


The Witchery Way

by hummerhouse



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: Complete, Horror, Language, M/M, Turtlecest, Violence, adult concepts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-20 10:53:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 53,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2426120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hummerhouse/pseuds/hummerhouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: The TMNT are not mine. No money being made.<br/>Word Count: 53,454<br/>Rating: NC-17 TCest OT4, language, violence, adult concepts<br/>Summary: Young, healthy males throughout New York City are dying in a mysterious manner. Casey urges Raph to help him solve the puzzle, but the red banded turtle and his oldest brother are locked in a mystery of their own.<br/>~~Winner in the 2013 Adult Fan Fiction Awards in the categories of: Most Literal Leo - 3rd, Most Riveting Raph - 2nd, Best Turtlecest - 1st, Best Multi-Chapter - 2nd, Best Horror - 1st</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~This provocative preview image was created by Proffor from DeviantArt  
> 

            “How many do ya’ see?” Casey asked in a harsh whisper.

            “Looks like six or seven,” Raph answered.  “Can’t be sure ‘cause I think they might have a look out.  See that short one in the red ball cap?  He keeps looking at the exact same spot down the street.”

            Casey slid a baseball bat from his bag and leaned back against the wall of the building they were hiding behind.  Raph kept his eyes on the group of Purple Dragons they had spotted as he came up off one knee and stood.

            “So do we wait for ‘em ta break in, or do ya’ want ta break up their party before they make a mess of that liquor store?”  Casey lowered his mask after the words left his mouth.

            “If it was anybody but the Purple Dragons I’d give them the benefit of the doubt,” Raph said.  “I vote we save that shop owner some money and hit these guys before they can have any fun.”

            “I was hoping you’d say that,” Casey said, the unseen grin on his face obvious in his voice.

            “Get ready,” Raph said, lifting a hand with a sai already clutched in it.  “Three . . . two . . . .”

            Before he finished his count, the silence was filled with the sound of sirens.  The Purple Dragons disappeared in a flash, scattering like cockroaches hit by a light.

            Raph and Casey looked at each other and then scrambled for the nearest fire escape, taking to the roof tops to avoid discovery.  Together they jumped from roof to roof until they had put the block where the liquor store was located behind them.

            When they stopped, Casey pushed his mask to the top of his head and frowned.  “Do ya’ suppose they set off the silent alarm?”

            “They weren’t close enough yet ta touch anything,” Raph said.  Pausing to listen, he asked, “Do those sirens sound like they’ve stopped somewhere else?”

            “Yeah,” Casey said in agreement as he walked over to the roof’s edge and looked back towards the liquor store.  “They ain’t anywhere on this street.  The cops must be on ta something else.”

            “Come on, let’s see what’s happening,” Raph said, starting off at a lope.

            The pair only needed to go another two blocks before they reached an area filled with police activity.  Perched atop a tall building, Raph and Casey looked down on a gruesome scene.

            The mostly unclothed body of a man lay in the middle of the street.  Lying face up it was obvious he was not the victim of a hit and run; whatever damage he’d sustained was underneath him, as a vast pool of spreading blood attested to.

            Police had already cordoned off the area and an ambulance stood nearby, its crew idle and unneeded.  A large paneled truck stopped just beyond the yellow crime tape, the words “Crime Scene Unit” in white letters on its side heralding the arrival of investigators.

            A strong flashlight swept across the rooftops as the police began to survey the immediate area.  Raph yanked Casey back from the edge when it nearly caught the man in its glare.

            “Pay attention pal or you’re gonna end up on page one as a person of interest,” Raph said with a grin.

            “Ya’ think that guy jumped?” Casey asked.  “If I was gonna jump I’d make sure I was wearing more than my skivvies.”

            “Since I don’t wear clothes I can’t give ya’ an opinion on that,” Raph said with amusement.

            Cautiously, the pair inched back over to the roof’s edge.  They were quick to note that several other city officials had arrived, along with additional investigators and what appeared to be plain clothes detectives.  Four of them gained entry into the apartment building across the street from where Casey and Raph were watching.

            “Whoa, that’s a lot of brass for a jumper,” Casey observed.

            Raph glanced at him and then back at the scene.  “Don’t ya’ ever watch the news?  This makes the fifth one in the last two weeks.”

            Casey snorted.  “The only reason ya’ watch the news is ‘cause Leo’s addicted ta it.  Fifth what?  Fifth jumper?”

            “Yeah, only they’re all alike, so the cops think that the jumping part wasn’t voluntary.  Ya’ see how far out in the street his is?” Raph asked, pointing at the dead man.  “Even jumping from the roof of that building wouldn’t put ya’ in the middle of the street.  A jumper falls on the sidewalk; that guy was pushed.”

            “He’s pretty damn big, Raph.  Who the fuck pushed him, the Hulk?” Casey asked incredulously.

            “Shell if I know,” Raph said.  “The cops ain’t found anything that links the last four except that they’re young and in good shape.  It’s a fucking mystery.  Two of them were last seen with some strange woman, but the descriptions of her don’t match.  One of ‘em was seen with his boyfriend and one with his fiancé.  The fiancé said she was in Italy when her man got killed and can prove it.  The boyfriend and his guy just broke up and the boyfriend had already moved on to another partner.”

            “Ya’ sure know a lot about it,” Casey teased.  “Ya’ been reading the paper with Leo too?”

            “Fuck ya’,” Raph snapped.  “I happen ta like a good murder mystery.”

            “Oh yeah?  Ya’ just like ta read about them or do ya’ wanna take a shot at solving this?” Casey asked.

            Raph shrugged, his eyes still glued to the apartments across the street.  A light went on in one on an upper floor, the brightness illuminating the fluttering curtains and open patio door which led onto a small balcony.

            “Guess that’s where he went over,” Raph said.  “That railing is four feet high.  Even if he stood on it and jumped he wouldn’t have wound up in the street.  I read that the medical examiner found wounds ‘not consistent with a fall’ on the other men’s bodies.”

            Casey was watching his friend carefully as he said, “Maybe if ya’ figure out who the murderer is then ya’ and Leo will have a little more common ground ta stand on.”

            “Lay off,” Raph growled warningly.  “Leo’s who he is and I’m me and that’s all there is to it.”

            The pair stepped back from the edge as the detectives in the apartment across the street moved onto the balcony.

            “Don’t know how we’re gonna discover anything that the cops haven’t already found,” Casey said, keeping his voice low.  “They’re all over it.”

            “I said I was interested in mysteries, not that I wanted ta solve one,” Raph told him irritably.  “I already have plenty of my own shit going on.”

            Casey started to say something but then bit his own tongue to keep the words from slipping free.  He’d already pushed his luck on the subject of Raph and his oldest brother enough for one night.  If there was anything he knew about Raph, it was when to let something drop.

            “Let’s get out of here,” Casey said.  “I’ll bet there’s plenty of our kind of crime going down right now.”

            “That’s more like it,” Raph agreed, leading the way off of the rooftop and away from the crime scene.

            They had taken care to remain out of sight of the police and spectators, but they did not go unseen.

            A pair of glittering obsidian eyes followed the two; the gaze speculative and hungry.

TBC……………


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 1,839  
> Rated: NC-17

            The lair was in near darkness by the time Raph returned home, its interior illuminated only by the kitchen light, which was never turned off.

            From habit, Raph looked around first to see if Leo had waited up for him.  When he didn’t see his oldest brother, Raph felt equal parts hurt and relief.  Their relationship was what Raph laughingly referred to as ‘complicated’.

            Raph moved into the friendly glow of the kitchen and grabbed a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator.  He’d downed half of it on his way to the stairs, ready to call it a night, when a buzzing sound coming from Don’s lab caught his attention.

            A second later a light flickered on and Raph turned automatically, his feet carrying him into Don’s sanctuary.

            He discovered his genius brother bent over a small Japanese step chest.  Don was removing a set of clamps from the underside and glanced up when he heard Raph come in.

            “As always it’s good to see you made it home in one piece,” Don said before returning to his work on the chest.

            “Ya’ sleeping in here?” Raph asked, catching a glimpse of the unmade daybed against one wall.

            “Mmhmm,” Don answered.  “I’m making this for Master Splinter and wanted to get the front piece done tonight so I can put the first coat of varnish on.”

            Raph took another swig of water as he watched Donny work.  As always, the young genius’ hands were sure and unhesitating, a fact that Raph knew had many benefits.

            Swallowing that thought along with his water, Raph asked in what he hoped was a casual tone, “Leo decided not ta wait up and enjoy another chance ta yell at me?”  Then almost as an afterthought, he added, “Did Mikey turn in early?”

            Don peered up at him quickly, a small knowing smile on his lips.  “Leo was pacing and Mikey decided he was too tense.  You know Mikey; if he decides you’re tense it makes him tense.  He talked Leo into sleeping with him.”

            “Oh,” Raph said as he started the water to his mouth once more.  Partway there it stopped.  “Ya’ didn’t get invited?”

            This time Don chuckled.  “This is Mikey we’re talking about; of course I was invited.  As much as I would have liked to participate, I really wanted to get this done tonight.  It’s going to look really nice when I finish.”

            “Yeah, ya’ always turn out good work,” Raph said.  “Hey, Donny, do ya’ know anything about those killings they been talking about in the news?”

            “This is New York City, Raph,” Don said, amusement in his voice.  “To which killings are you referring?”

            “The ones where half naked men appear ta have jumped out of windows and then promptly splattered on the street,” Raph said.

            “Colorful,” Don said.  “Leo probably knows more about it than I do, but I think I read that the medical examiner has ruled out suicide.  Apparently he’s discovered wounds on the bodies that aren’t consistent with a fall; something about trauma to the throat.  You know how the police are; they aren’t releasing a lot of details.”

            He had been wiping down the chest as he spoke, but now looked at Raph curiously.

            “Me and Casey watched the cops investigating another one of those jumpers tonight,” Raph said by way of explanation.  “The pattern was exactly the same; one tall building, one open door, and one pretty big, mostly naked guy lying in the middle of the street.”

            Don shook his head, his lips pressed into a disapproving line.  “Sounds like the work of a serial killer.  It’ll probably turn out to be some guy who’s killing his abusive father over and over.”

            “So he knocks the guy out first, yanks his clothes off, and drags him to an open door or window?  The dead man we saw tonight weighed in at two-twenty easy.  Casey must be right, the killer is the Hulk,” Raph said.

            Frowning, Don said, “Maybe he lures them with promises of a good time and then gives them a push afterwards?”

            “Only one of the victims was gay,” Raph said.  “One of ‘em was engaged ta be married.  Who knows, maybe all of ‘em swing both ways and were up for a little strange on the side.  It’s weird though ‘cause the last people ta see some of those men alive swear they saw them with a woman.”

            “Maybe it’s Supergirl and not the Hulk,” Don quipped with a grin.

            “They’re still wearing their drawers, so I guess she ain’t giving it up first,” Raph responded, a lecherous glint in his gold eyes.

            “Super pussy,” Don said, following Raph’s train of thought.  “She spasmed once and those men shot clean out of the building.”

            Raph howled with laughter.  His smart brother rarely got vulgar, but sometimes if you caught him late at night when he was tired, Don would say some damned outrageous things.

            “The most dangerous fuck on Earth,” Raph followed up, eyeing Don.

            “Unless you’re wearing a kryptonite cock ring,” Don said, setting the cleaning cloth aside.

            “Sounds like the beginning of a really good porn movie,” Raph said.

            “Or a really bad one.”  Don lifted the chest onto a well-padded dolly and began to push it towards the door.

            “Where ya’ going?” Raph asked.

            “To the garage,” Don answered.  “It’s too closed up in here and I don’t want to sleep with the smell of varnish hanging over me.”

            “Ya’ could always sleep in my room,” Raph offered suggestively.

            Don shot him a knowing look.  “I could sleep in mine as well, but there probably isn’t going to be much time between when I finish this and practice, so I need every minute for actual shut eye.  If you’re feeling anxious, why don’t you peek in on Leo and Mikey?  I’ll bet Mikey would accommodate you if you offer to do all the work and don’t wake him up much.”

            “Yeah, those are the best kinds of fucks,” Raph said sarcastically.  “Why don’t I just take out an advertisement about what time I got home and put it in the paper for Leo ta read while I’m at it?”

            “You know, staying out late isn’t going to resolve the issue between you and Leo,” Don said, pausing in the doorway.

            “Nothing’s gonna resolve it,” Raph said, his shield down momentarily.  “I gave up on trying and Leo has too.  We’re both happy with things the way they are.”

            “Happy isn’t the word I would have chosen,” Don said.  “More like ‘miserable’, or ‘stubborn’, or ‘cock blocked’, or . . . .”

            “I got the general idea brainiac,” Raph snapped.  “You’re too damn talkative this early in the morning, I don’t wanna fuck ya’ after all.”

            Don chuckled.  “Good thing I never took you up on your offer then, isn’t it?  If you can’t get to sleep, I guess jerking off is your only option.”

            “I’ll just listen ta the early news, that shit’s so boring it’s bound ta put me ta sleep,” Raph said.  “Maybe they’ll have some new info on the dead guy I saw tonight,” he added, perking up.

            “Why are you so interested in this set of killings?” Don asked, his brow furrowed suspiciously.  “You’ve seen murders before.”

            “I don’t know,” Raph said.  “Casey started it by saying we should solve the mystery.  Maybe it kinda bothers me ta see young, healthy men getting killed in the prime of their lives.”

            “Could be it reminds you of your own mortality?” Don asked wisely.  “It never seems fair not to have the chance to live your life fully or to love the way you were meant to, sharing everything with the ones you care most about.”

            He was looking at Raph significantly and the red banded turtle didn’t miss the implications.

            “Ain’t always as easy or simple as that,” Raph told him gruffly.

            “Apparently not,” Don said.  “I’d love to stay and talk, but I have an appointment with a can of varnish.  Try to get a couple of hours sleep, would you?  I hate it when you’re grumpy during practice.”

            “Just for ya’ I’ll wear a smile when I shellac your shell,” Raph said, smiling at his own pun.

            Don snorted.  “Cocky much?  We’ll see who’s snoozing at practice.”

            With that he left and a few seconds later Raph heard the elevator doors open and then close.  Looking around him at the empty lab, Raph sighed and took the stairs two at a time.

            He stopped briefly and silently at Mikey’s closed door, listening to the soft sounds his youngest brother emitted during sleep.  Raph did not hear Leo at all, nor did he expect to.  His perfectionist brother had managed the art of ninja silence even while unconscious.

            The door to Leo’s room stood open as it normally did when unoccupied.  A pensive feeling had Raph stepping inside, his finger finding the switch that activated the small bedside lamp.  Looking around at the familiar Spartan surroundings, Raph fought the urge to sleep on his brother’s bed, knowing damn well the effect Leo’s scent would have on his nervous system.

            With a huff, Raph snapped the light off and stomped into his own room, flinging himself into his hammock.  He should have taken a quick shower but since practice was scheduled in a couple of hours, it seemed a waste of water and energy.

            Staring up at his ceiling, Raph’s mind drifted, as it often did, to the dilemma that kept him and Leo at arm’s reach.  Intimacy between the four brothers was a shared and reciprocal occurrence, something they all found rewarding and satisfying.

            Due however to the vagaries of their individual personalities, neither Leo nor Raph ever bottomed for anyone.  This didn’t present a problem when their respective partners were Don or Mikey, or when one of those two was a part of a threesome with Raph and Leo.

            The problem that was eating at Raph was that he and Leo couldn’t be together in a sexually fulfilling way.  They never had and if one measured their resolve by the amount of stubbornness within each of them, they never would.

            They had gotten as far as kissing, touching, and even mutually satisfying one another with hand jobs.  Even fully relaxed after such an episode, an attempt by either of them to bring up the subject of going further usually degenerated into an argument that had one of them storming out of the room.

            Raph wondered what it was like for Don and Mikey.  When it was just the two of them, Raph knew they took turns, and that equality made it really good.  Leo would never agree to that; if Raph showed his brother even a moment of vulnerability, Leo would take advantage of it.  Forever.

            That was exactly a Leo type of thing to do, and on that thought Raphael fell asleep, unsated, unfulfilled, and unhappy.

            And he dreamed of Leo and his brother’s intensely piercing eyes.

TBC………..


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,910  
> Rated: NC-17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~This provocative preview image was created for this chapter by Proffor from DeviantArt  
> 

            Raph was so engrossed in the morning paper that he almost missed the surprised look on Leo’s face when the turtle leader stepped into the kitchen.

            “Mornin’”, Raph told him.

            “Good morning,” Leo replied.  “I wondered why the paper wasn’t at the garage door.”

            “Sorry, I would have saved ya’ the trip up there if I’d have heard ya’,” Raph said.  “I grabbed the paper and took it into my ‘office’ before coming in here.”

            Leo made a face at Raph’s reference to the toilet and then set about making tea.  He noticed that Raph had already started the coffee maker and looked over at his brother, who had returned to reading the paper.

            “You’re certainly up early,” Leo said in what he hoped was a conversational tone.

            “No, I didn’t stay up all night,” Raph responded, hearing the unspoken question despite Leo’s effort to disguise it.  “I got plenty of sleep.  There was something I wanted ta read about in the early edition, so I decided ta go ahead and get up.”

            As he waited for his water to boil, Leo walked over to stand behind Raph, peering at the front page as he did so.

            “The change in the garbage collection schedules?” Leo asked.

            Raph turned his head partway, catching a glimpse of his brother’s strong profile as Leo leaned in further.

            “No, it’s this,” Raph slapped the paper, his fingers creasing the headlines regarding the most recent murder.

            “There was another one?”  Leo shook his head and then turned at the sound of the whistling kettle.

            “Yeah, me and Casey heard the sirens and followed ‘em,” Raph said.  “We got there about the same time as the cops did.  It was damn brutal looking.”

           While he waited for his tea to steep, Leo pulled a couple of clean cups down from the cabinet and poured the freshly made coffee into one of them.  Walking back over to Raph, he set the cup in front of his brother, along with a spoon and the sealed container of sugar, glancing at the paper again as he did so.

            “It says they discovered the man’s body at three a.m.,” Leo said as he went back to preparing his tea.  “Two hours now constitute ‘plenty of sleep’?”

            Raph made a face at the paper; it figured that Leo and his damn speed reading would pick that one fact out of the story and use it to his advantage.

            “I slept in the night before, so it evens out,” Raph replied, not in the mood for an early morning argument.

            Leo returned to the table, pulling out a chair next to Raph’s and taking a seat.  As was usually the case when Leo was so close to him, Raph found he was hyper aware of his brother, noticing tiny details about him without really wanting to.

            He spotted a slight darkening on the forest green skin just below Leo’s jaw line, most likely the beginnings of a hickey placed there by Mikey during their evening romp.  He noticed how Leo’s eyes crinkled contentedly as he took that first sip of morning tea, how straight Leo sat even when fully relaxed.  Raph inhaled Leo’s scent, mixed delicately with Mikey’s at the moment; it was still very distinctive.

            Raph pulled his attention off of his brother forcefully, focusing instead on the now cooling coffee.  Setting the paper aside, he reached for the sugar, telling his brother, “Thanks.”

            “Welcome,” Leo replied and then tapped the paper with a fingertip.  “Did they find anything useful at this crime scene?”

            “Nah,” Raph said, swallowing coffee before lifting the paper again and turning to the articles continuation on an inside page.  The remainder of the story was only a couple of paragraphs long and said nothing Raph didn’t already know.  “The cops are still as clueless as they were with the first one.”

            “I wasn’t aware that you’d been following the case,” Leo said mildly.  “That’s something for the experts to solve and I’m sure they aren’t as ‘clueless’ as you’ve been led to believe.”

            Raph flushed slightly, feeling acutely the dig that Leo had just taken at him.  He had meant to pick his brother’s brain for whatever Leo might have learned from having spent so much time watching the news, maybe even offering a suggestion that they try to find out some things about the case together.

            Now he wondered how he ever thought that sharing the mystery with Leo would be a good way to bond.  Pride demanded that Raph get his information elsewhere.

            “Just got curious ‘cause of last night,” Raph said with what he hoped was an appropriate amount of nonchalance.  He put the paper down and gulped the remainder of his coffee.

            Leo touched the paper and asked, “May I?”

            “Yeah, I’m done,” Raph said, reaching for the sports section.

            “Please tell me that’s coffee I smell,” Don said as he walked into the kitchen.  His eyes were barely open as he made straight for the coffee maker.

            Mikey followed on his heels, a wide yawn garbling his morning greeting.  As Mikey poured out a bowl of cereal for himself, Don dropped some bread into the four slotted toaster and sat down at the table to sip his coffee.

            “Did ya’ finish that chest ya’ was working on?” Raph asked.

            Don rubbed a hand across his chin tiredly, glancing at Raph and then back into his cup.  “I got the first coat of varnish on, but the humidity in the air is going to slow the drying time.  I think it’s going to rain.”

            “Yeah, it was clouding up when I came in,” Raph said.

            After taking another large swallow of what he considered liquid heaven, Don eyed Raph suspiciously.  “You certainly look wide awake and alert.  What’s your secret?”

            Raph laughed, his eyes remaining glued to the sports scores.  “Just good, clean living.”

            Mikey waved a hand in front of his nose as he sat down.  “I don’t know about the clean part dude.  When was the last time you said hello to soap and water?”

            “Didn’t seem to be any point in rinsing off a couple hours before I report for training,” Raph told him, glaring at Mikey.  The effort was wasted; Mikey’s eyes were focused on the cereal he was busily stuffing into his mouth.

            The toaster popped behind them, interrupting any further discussion on that subject, and Don got up to retrieve his breakfast. 

            “You want a slice, Raph?” Don asked.  He didn’t offer any to Leo because his oldest brother never ate before practice, choosing to indulge in brunch instead.

            “Sure,” Raph said as he turned his newspaper to another page.  He was tempted to tell Don what he’d read about the murder, but refrained because he didn’t want to bring it up again around Leo.

            Don delved into the refrigerator for the grape jam, placing it and a knife on the table next to Raph’s toast.  Raph offered him a nod and a smile in acknowledgment, and Don refilled both of their coffee cups before sitting down to eat his toast plain, the way he preferred it.

            As Raph spread a liberal amount of jam on his toast, he watched Mikey lift his cereal bowl to his mouth and drain the last of his milk.  Mikey set the empty bowl on the table with a satisfied thump, rubbed the back of his hand across his lips, and then burped loudly.

            “Nothing like a little morning fuel,” Mikey said with a smile.

            “Say ‘excuse me’, Mikey,” Leo said without looking up from the paper.

            “Excuse me, Mikey,” Mikey said, grinning impishly.

            Don shook his head.  “Do you go out of your way to be disgusting?”

            Mikey aimed a thumb in Raph’s direction.  “Why is my burp more disgusting than how Raph smells?”

            Leo put his paper aside and stood up.  “Finish up you guys, I just saw Master Splinter go into the dojo.”

            Raph pushed the last bite of toast into his mouth as he left the table.  When he got near Mikey, he grabbed the back of his brother’s chair and leaned in close to him.

            “This is a pure manly aroma,” Raph husked next to his ear, “get used ta it; I’m gonna rub it all over your face at practice.”

            Don snorted laughter as he rose from his chair and Mikey leaned away from Raph, his beak wrinkled in distaste. 

            “Eww, gross,” Mikey told him.

            Laughing, Raph turned towards the door, yanking the chair backwards as he moved.  The chair hit the floor with a loud thud and Mikey rolled out of it, leaping nimbly to his feet.  Raph darted into the dojo with Mikey in hot pursuit.

            All during practice Raph’s mind kept turning to the killings and to his dilemma with Leo.  He loved all of his brothers deeply but there was something about his oldest brother that just seemed unreachable.  It was like he’d partitioned a part of himself off from his family and that thought ate away at Raph.

            He wanted Leo; all of him.  Raph wanted to share things with Leo that he kept hidden from the others because he thought Leo would understand his darker core.  He wanted to know everything that was on the other side of Leo’s wall as well; whatever his brother hid was no doubt something Raph was also familiar with.

            Unless the thing that Leo was hiding was the fact that he didn’t need his brothers; that he didn’t need _Raph_ , as much as Raph needed him.  Maybe that was why Leo was able to hold himself aloof from Raph’s advances.  For all he knew, Leo could be just fine and dandy with the limitations in their relationship.

            If that was the case, Raph would be damned before he gave it up to Leo first.  As far as he was concerned, it was up to Leo to prove he gave a shit.  Might be that big brother thought he was too good to lift his tail for Raph.  Leo’s gibe that morning had stung and Raph didn’t like that feeling.  Maybe he’d show Leo there was more to him than brawn by solving that murder mystery.

            By the time Master Splinter instructed that Raph and Leo should spar, the red banded turtle had worked his anger up to a low level burn.  It felt good and was made better by the fact that it sharpened his senses; giving Raph that extra edge he needed to put Leo on the mat. 

            When Leo tapped out and Raph released him, the turtle leader gave his brother a puzzled look, sensing the underlying anger but not knowing its cause.  If Leo expected an explanation after Master Splinter called an end to practice, he could get bent for all Raph cared.  The hot head turned his back on his brothers and strode out of the dojo, making straight for the showers and then the comfort of his hammock for several hours of shuteye.

            It was late afternoon when Raph rolled out of his hammock.  He was a little groggy as was usually the case when he slept for more than a few hours at a time and in no mood to be sociable, but when he went downstairs he saw that the evening news was on TV.

            Crossing over to the living area, Raph plopped down on the other end of the couch from where Leo sat.  Their father was curled into his favorite chair and gave his son a quick glance before turning his attention back to the newscast.

            Eventually there was a short update on the most recent murder, delivered by a serious faced brunette model/reporter who was standing on the sidewalk near where the man had been found.  Other than the man’s name, which had finally been released, no other new information came to light.

            When a commercial began to play, Raph looked over at Leo and asked, “We going out on patrol?”

            “Yep,” Leo said.  “We aren’t going anywhere near that crime scene though.”

            Raph shrugged, hiding a quick spark of irritation.  “That’s fine by me.  Ain’t nobody gonna be jacking around in that area anyway, not with the cops still sitting there.”

            Political news began when the commercials were over and Raph left quickly.  Passing the kitchen, he saw that Mikey was doing something to a pan full of chicken, which meant there was about an hour before dinner.

            Raph was glad to see that Don’s lab door was open and that his brother was inside.  He was also happy to see that Don was working on the vacuum cleaner and not on his computer.

            “You ain’t using the computer right now are ya’?” Raph asked.

            “Obviously not,” Don answered, grunting as he snapped the roller loose.  “Can you hand me that Phillips head?”

            Raph grabbed the screwdriver off the table and passed it over to his brother before sitting down in Don’s chair.  He typed in a search for the ‘high rise killer’ as the news had dubbed the string of murders and then systematically clicked on each link.

            “What are you looking for?” Don asked as he continued to dismantle the vacuum.

            “Everything I can find out about those killings, right from the beginning.  I missed it when they first started talking about ‘em ‘cause everybody thought they were jumpers,” Raph answered.

            “You know, you might be getting a little obsessive,” Don observed lightly.

            Raph merely grunted at the accusation.  “Ya’ should know.  At least I haven’t missed any meals, or sleep, or _sex_ because of my interests.”

            “Touché,” Don replied, chuckling softly.

            They fell into a companionable silence, Don working to dissect the vacuum and Raph avidly reading everything he could find out about the murders.  Mikey yelling that dinner was ready interrupted both of those activities, and Raph left his research reluctantly, pulling Don along with him before the genius could protest.

            After dinner the brothers geared up for their patrol.  In the tunnels on their way to the spot where they’d go topside, they could hear water trickling in from the runoff drains.

            “The weather report said there was a ninety percent chance of rain, some of it heavy,” Leo said.  “If it starts to do more than drizzle, we’ll head back in for the night.”

            “I vote we go home if there’s even a light mist,” Mikey said as they hopped out of a manhole.  “I’d prefer to stay dry.”

            “Says the turtle who lives in the sewers,” Don said.

            “We’ll take that under advisement, Mikey,” Leo said before Mikey could form a comeback.

            “That’s your way of saying no,” Mikey grumbled, following his brothers onto the nearest roof top.

            Running wet roofs was trickier than when they were dry and the brothers took their time.  Every few minutes a light rain would fall and then stop; not enough to get the turtles truly wet, but enough to dampen the things around them.

            The activity on the streets was less than usual and it appeared even the criminals didn’t care much for the on again, off again precipitation.  They’d been patrolling for nearly two hours when raised voices from below stopped them, much to Raph’s delight.  He was growing bored and anxious from keeping his frustrations bottled up, wanting nothing more than to hit something.

            “We want some hot dogs old man!” a young man shouted.

            “Don’t give us that shit about closing ‘cause of the rain!” another yelled.

            “You don’t understand; I have already turned everything off.  The meat is cold,” the street vendor attempted to explain.

            “Then turn it back on,” said the first youth.

            Peering down from the roof, the turtles saw an elderly man surrounded by six teenagers.  The hot dog cart that he manned was closed up; all of the condiments and buns tucked away inside.

            It was obvious from the letterman jackets they wore that this was not a street gang, just a group of slightly intoxicated high school football players.  That made them rather more dangerous than less; false bravado and gang mentality could easily lead them to do something they would regret.

            On a signal from Leo, the turtle brothers silently dropped to the street below, remaining in the shadows as they took up positions around the teenagers.

            One of the teens shoved the old man hard, knocking him to the ground, and his friends began to ransack the cart.  It was while their attention was on that task that the turtles struck.

            The fight was short lived; all fists and no weapons, unless one counted the switchblade that one boy tried to use on Raph.  Easily relieving him of the expensive trinket, Raph tucked it into his belt and tossed the kid onto the sidewalk next to his friends.

            Mikey helped the shocked vendor to his feet while Don put the cart back together.  After the vendor was on his way, the brothers turned their attention back to the teenagers.

            “What the fuck are you?” the teen who had done most of the talking asked.  “You leave us alone or we’ll come back with a dozen guys and kick your asses.”

            “Big talk for a bunch of sissies sucking the sidewalk,” Raph told him.

            “If you knew who my dad was you wouldn’t say that,” another boy announced.

            Raph could see Leo’s face grow cold at those words.  If there was one thing big brother hated, it was when someone used privilege as an excuse for bad behavior.

            “Give me their jackets,” Leo ordered through clenched teeth.

            There was another short tussle as Raph, Mikey, and Don forced the boys to relinquish their letterman jackets.  Once they were in a pile at Leo’s feet, the turtle leader unsheathed his swords.

            Pointing his weapon at one of the jackets, Leo said, “These were awarded to you for your participation and achievements in sports.  They carry on them an emblem of school pride; pride in you and your ability to work as a team towards a worthy goal.  What you have done here tonight shows a lack of integrity that is not befitting of this honor.”

            With those words, Leo caught one of the jackets with the tip of his sword and tossed it skyward, using his double katanas to shred the jacket into several pieces before it could hit the ground.

            One by one he banished each jacket to the same fate, with the now silent and slightly terrified teenagers watching.  When he was done, Leo returned his swords to their sheaths before signaling for his brothers to vanish.

            They reached the roof tops just as the first large raindrops started to fall.  After putting a long city block between themselves and the teens, the group stopped under the overhang of a maintenance shed.

            “Whoa-ho dude!” Mikey chirped.  “You scared the shell out of those guys.”

            Leo shook his head.  “I shouldn’t have taken it that far.”

            “Ya’ got fed up with their line of bullshit bro’,” Raph said.  “You’re allowed ta get pissed sometimes.”

            This was something that Raph both loved and hated about Leo.  His brother had the ability to be extremely dangerous, but he always managed to hold himself in check.  Those few times a deeper emotion took control of him were absolutely exciting to behold, but then Leo would clamp down on his feelings.  Raph could never understand why Leo would remonstrate with himself over fully experiencing his emotions and it annoyed the red banded turtle to think that Leo believed he was better than his own feelings.

            Feelings were what Raph was all about.  He embraced them when he could, fought to understand them frequently, and let them consume him in certain circumstances.  They seemed to do that most often when he was dealing with Leo.

            “Anger is an enemy that steals rational thought,” Leo told him.  “They were kids who showed poor judgment.  I should have chased them home with a warning, not done to their jackets what they were trying to do to the old man’s cart.”

            “Maybe that’s the best lesson of all,” Raph insisted.  “Ya’ showed them what it’s like ta lose something of value.  Words like ‘integrity’ and ‘honor’ don’t mean much ta bad kids who ain’t learned how ta listen.”

            “Angering them further isn’t much of a lesson either,” Leo said.

            The sky to their North was beginning to brighten with frequent flashes of lightning, and a nearby boom of thunder reminded at least two of the brothers that a storm was coming.

            “Could you guys take this argument back home?” Mikey asked.

            “If the lightning moves this direction while we’re up here it could turn us into fried turtles,” Don added.

            Leo glanced up at the menacing sky and nodded.  “We’ll call it a night.”

            “What the shell, we haven’t done anything but roust a couple of kids,” Raph protested.  “We can get off the roofs and patrol at ground level.  The Dragons wouldn’t let a little rain stop them.”

            “I’m sorry you slept away the afternoon and now have so much bottled up energy,” Leo said, “but I’m not going to put this team at risk because of that.”

            “How is patrolling in a little rain risky?  None of ya’ are made of sugar, so ya’ sure as shit ain’t gonna melt,” Raph fumed.  “You’re kinda missing the whole point of why we go out on patrol.”

            “We go out to protect this city from the darker elements that prey on its citizens,” Leo said.  “I haven’t lost sight of that, but you need to remember that bringing all of you home safely is my uppermost priority.”

            “Then what the hell is the point of patrolling at all?” Raph asked.  “We should all stay home and knit sweaters.  Maybe Don could set up a weather satellite ta tell us when the atmospheric conditions are just right for us ta go topside.”

            Leo frowned, growing annoyed that Raph was arguing with him over something he considered minor.  Raph knew that expression well; Leo’s only concern seemed to be having his orders followed no matter how anyone else felt about them.  Being a simple minded sheep was not in Raph’s makeup.

            “And when exactly would you consider the weather conditions bad enough to go home, Raph?  When one of us is hit by lightning, or when we’re so soaked and cold that we get sick?” Leo asked.

            Mikey leaned close to Don and whispered, “They used to fight about important stuff, dude.”

            Don shook his head, rolling his eyes as he did so.  “Sexual tension.  They’re both going to lose it big time if they don’t work through this macho crap.”

            “Ooh, Donny said ‘crap’,” Mikey said with a chuckle.  “They must be getting on your nerves.”

            “Look Leo,” Raph said, inhaling deeply to control his frustration.  “Ya’ wanna drag Mikey and Don home, fine.  I need ta stretch my muscles.  I’m going for a run.”

            “Raph, that isn’t . . . .” Leo began.

            The larger turtle interrupted him.  “I won’t look for any fights, okay?  I’m gonna run and that’s all; even if I see Purple Dragons busting up a bodega I’ll avoid ‘em.”

            “Would it do me any good to say no?” Leo asked.

            Raph’s mouth lifted in a cocky grin.  “Nope.”

            Raindrops began to hit the roof faster and Leo gave his brother a last annoyed look.  “No searching for fights.  You won’t have any backup.”

            “Like I need backup,” Raph snorted.  Leo stepped closer to him, a severe expression on his face and Raph said, “I said I was just gonna run.  Go home before ya’ do melt.”

            Rather than wait for Leo to say anything further, Raph spun away from his brothers.  The roofs edge was only a few feet away, and he jumped down, catching a drain pipe to slow his descent.

            The strangled feeling Raph had gotten from just standing around began to dissipate as he ran, puddles splashing beneath his feet.  Leo would be riding him to avoid them if they were running together; his brother took that silent ninja shit way too seriously.  Sometimes Raph thought that Leo’s feet didn’t even touch the ground, which seemed only right with his holier than thou attitude.

            Raph sort of hoped that Leo had wanted to come with him.  He loved to watch Leo in motion; loved the way his sinewy muscles flowed under the forest green skin.  Leo’s movements were always so smooth and rhythmic, almost like a ninja ballet, only this dancer was as deadly as a cobra.

            There were times when Raph thought Leo might be part cobra, ‘cause his oldest brother had a way of mesmerizing him.  They could be running through katas and Raph would suddenly come to a standstill as he stared at Leo’s form, his own work forgotten in a sudden overwhelming rush of primal lust.

            A hard rap from his father’s stick would snap him out of it, and Raph would quickly pretend that Leo had done something to piss him off so that sensei wouldn’t know what Raph was really thinking about.

            Leo always managed to ignore them; all of them.  He was so supremely focused when he worked out that nothing could break his concentration.  Raph had certainly tried.

            The feeling that he was being watched snapped Raph out of his thoughts and he made a quick and unexpected turn down a side street.  Watching his back trail he spotted nothing, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.

            Since the lightning and thunder seemed to be moving away, Raph decided that he’d feel better back on the roof tops where he could see if someone was stalking him.  At the first fire escape he came upon Raph climbed to the top of a building and then looked down, spending a few moments eyeballing the street he’d just been on.

           Even though the lightning had moved away, the rain didn’t lessen.  Raph was thoroughly drenched and should have been feeling the cold, but thinking about Leo had a warming effect on his body. 

            As he began to run again, an image of his brother performing a perfect split kick came unbidden to his mind.  Raph desperately wanted to be between those muscular and flexible thighs, he badly wanted to see Leo’s look of intensity focused on _him_.

            Again there was the feeling that someone was keeping pace with him, and Raph leaped to another roof top before looking around.  The rain was coming down in sheets, making for limited visibility, but Raph’s eyes were trained to see things in even worse conditions.  Nothing was there.

            Raph slowed his pace slightly, the skin on the back of his neck crawling.  Even while he grew cautious, a part of his brain still fussed away at his problem with Leo.  His damn brother wouldn’t even talk about options; wouldn’t discuss a way to work things out.  Leo was fucking obstinate in his stance on the subject of bottoming and Raph didn’t have a clue as to what he could do about it.

            No wonder Leo wouldn’t let him have his ass, Raph thought sourly, big brother already had a stick up there.

            Sudden movement to his left drew Raph’s eyes and he skid to a stop, turning to try and catch sight of whoever was following him.

            Raph felt the breath leave his lungs.  On the next roof over stood Leonardo, rain coursing over his body, his amber eyes fixed unblinkingly on his younger brother.

            Everything about him seemed to beckon to Raph; his stance, his expression, even the way he held his ground as though waiting for something.  It was almost like he was silently asking for Raph, maybe giving in to the need they both had been feeling.  Using the shield of the rain to let his guard down, Raph thought with a momentary flash of excitement.

            Then the bitterness of his earlier feelings crept into his brain.  Leo wasn’t there to offer him a damn thing, he was there because he didn’t trust Raph to stay out of trouble.  Raph’s word carried zero weight with Leo, who seemed to find fault with everything the red banded turtle did.

            Being watched over like some three-year old was the last straw.  Raph began to stride towards Leo as anger like hot lava came bubbling to the surface, consuming every other emotion in its wake.

            As Raph drew closer, he saw Leo’s facial expression suddenly change.  It was quick; one second there was a look of almost erotic expectation, and then Leo’s head tilted to the side, as though he’d just noticed that Raph was angry.

            In the next second Leo appeared confused, his brow furrowing as he studied his fast approaching brother.  He took a step back, then another, and as Raph watched, Leo’s face almost seemed to merge with the rain.

            And then he was gone.  Faster than the speed of light, Leo had disappeared.

            Raph rushed forward, leaping the gap between buildings in a giant bound.  Landing in almost the exact spot where Leo had been standing, Raph spun in a circle, frantically searching for some hint of where Leo had vanished to.

            The rain hid Leo as though it was his own personal bodyguard, washing away any clues to the blue banded turtle’s whereabouts.

            Frustrated and furious, Raph could only stare into the watery veil through brightly hot eyes.

TBC……………


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 3,018  
> Rated: NC-17

            Raphael strode into the lair, fists clenched in fury, and then stopped to look around.  His face felt as though it was burning and every muscle in his body was coiled into a tight knot.

            He’d spent several minutes trying to find Leo, even though he knew that if his brother didn’t want to be found, looking for him was pointless.  Whatever Leo’s game was it seemed infantile; like something they did when they were seven and were annoyed with each other.

            The sound of the television flaring to life pulled Raph into the living area, but rather than finding Leo there, the only occupant he saw was Mikey.

            With no preliminaries, Raph stomped up to within a foot of Mikey, towering over him as he demanded, “Where’s Leo?”

            Mikey leaned away from him, his hands up defensively.  “Back off dude, you’re dripping on me!”

            Boiling mad, Raph ground out his question once more.  “Where.  Is.  Leo?”

            His younger brother was staring at him as though Raph had just grown two heads.  “He’s in the garage with Donny, they’ve been up there ever since we got back.”

            “I saw him on the roof tops watching me not ten minutes ago,” Raph snapped.

            Mikey looked flabbergasted, his mouth hanging open for a second before he finally said, “That’s not possible.  I was in the garage myself five minutes ago and he’s up there helping Don work on the chest that he’s making for Master Splinter.”

            Now it was Raph’s turn to shift gears, going from boiling anger to extreme confusion.  While it wasn’t completely unknown for the brothers to tell each other fibs now and again, they all tried to avoid outright lies.

            This wasn’t something that seemed worth Mikey’s time to lie about anyway; even if Leo had asked him to Mikey would have told him to work his own problems out.  And Leo, middle name Honor, wouldn’t have asked anyone to lie for him in the first place.

            Mikey stood up when he saw the perplexed look on Raph’s face and curled his fingers around his brother’s forearm, gently tugging Raph towards the stairs.  “Come on bro’, let’s get you dried off and warm.”

            If Raph’s mind wasn’t whirling in dizzying circles trying to understand what he’d just seen, he would have resisted Mikey’s suggestion.  Instead he let himself be virtually dragged upstairs and into the bathroom.

            Closing and locking the door, Mikey started the shower running and then came over to stand in front of Raph.  There was still a far-away look in Raph’s eyes and Mikey sighed loudly, reaching out to pluck the sais from his big brother’s belt.

            That got Raph’s attention.  “What are ya’ doing?” he asked.

            Mikey set the sais on the counter near the sink then turned back.  This time his hands went to Raph’s belt, but before he could untie it, Raph caught his wrists and held him still.

            Looking up, Mikey said, “The sound of water running behind you is what we civilized folks like to call a shower.  The object of a shower is that you strip and stand under it in order to get clean.  I’m helping you strip, since you seem to have forgotten how.”

            Raph released him.  “I know how ta take a shower, knot head.”

            Smirking, Mikey once more attacked Raph’s belt, peeling it off of him quickly.  “Aw come on, you know it’s more fun when I help.”

            “Oh yeah?” Raph asked, lifting an eye ridge.  “Just what kinda help are ya’ offering?”

            Mikey frowned at him and said, “That didn’t sound very enthusiastic dude.”

            “So sue me,” Raph replied as Mikey finished removing the rest of his gear for him.  “I was kinda pissed off when I came home, in case ya’ didn’t notice.”

            “You spend a lot of time being pissed off, Raphie,” Mikey said, shoving his nearly unyielding brother into the shower stall.  “I stopped worrying about that a long time ago.  My mission in life now is to make at least some part of you happy every day.”

            Raph lowered his head beneath the steaming water, closing his eyes to let the penetrating heat seep into his skin.  When he looked back up again, he asked, “Ya’ gonna monitor my bath times now?”

            “Seems like a good way to get you to actually take one,” Mikey said with a chuckle.  “Should I come in and scrub your shell?”

            “No,” Raph answered emphatically, trying to hold onto his earlier resentment.  It was getting harder to do though, because Mikey’s expression gave away the fact that he was up to something.

            Afraid to turn his back to his younger brother, Raph began to soap up while keeping his eyes on Mikey.  His suspicions seemed justified when Mikey began to do a slow strip tease, removing his own gear while smiling at Raph.

            “I said ya’ ain’t welcome in here with me,” Raph said with less force than the first time.  Mikey had a way of moving his hips that was very unique, whether from natural agility or from practicing dance steps all over the lair.

            He was doing it now; gyrating as though he could hear music, and damned if Raph didn’t swear he could almost hear some to.  A tiny knot started to form in his gut and he clenched his toes in an attempt to ignore it.

            When Mikey turned around, Raph thought he was giving up and leaving, but his younger brother was simply reaching beneath the sink to retrieve something.  While Mikey dug around for whatever he was searching for, he wagged his tail at Raph.  The sight of that appendage teasing him had Raph licking his lips and staring until he shook his head and realized he’d been scrubbing the same arm for several minutes.

            A distinct pressure in his groin told Raph that Mikey was getting to him.  For a second he thought about turning the shower to cold just to teach his brother a lesson, but then he froze.

            Mikey had pulled a bottle of lubricant from its hiding spot and twisted around far enough so that Raph could see him drenching his fingers with the slick stuff.  Swallowing the huge lump that had formed in his throat, Raph watched as Mikey placed one of those fingers beneath his tail.

            Bending far over, Mikey braced himself on the toilet seat, lifted his tail high, and pushed his lubricated finger into his anus.  Raph dropped the soap with a thud and then promptly forgot about it.

            Turning his head so that he could look back over his shoulder, Mikey smiled coyly before pumping his finger in and out of himself.  The sight had Raph’s legs stiffening as he tried to contain his own reaction to the lascivious show, determined not to give Mikey the satisfaction of causing him to become aroused.

            The battle was lost as soon as Mikey added a second finger, scissoring them to open himself up fully to Raph’s view.  Raph blew warm water from his open mouth, shook his head much like a bull does when it spots someone in its territory, and stepped with slow deliberation from the shower stall.

            As soon as Raph left the deluge of water, barely remembering to turn it off, Mikey removed his fingers and tossed a towel at his brother’s head.  Raph blinked when the towel hit him and rubbed it across his face briskly.

            When he opened his eyes again, Mikey was standing in front of him.  Taking the towel from Raph’s hands, Mikey kneeled in front of him and swiftly patted his lower body, using care as he stroked the rough cloth over the widening bulge in Raph’s plastron.  Raph reached for him when Mikey tossed the towel aside, but his brother dodged out of the way, unlocking the door and darting out into the hall.

            “Mikey . . . .” Raph growled, his voice guttural as he gave pursuit.

            It was obvious where Mikey had gone; his bedroom door was open and Mikey had one arm extended into the hallway, beckoning to Raph with slowly curling fingers.

            Raph had taken two steps in Mikey’s direction when the sound of the elevator doors drew his attention.  Looking down to the floor below, Raph saw Leo and Don step out of elevator together.  The pair was in deep conversation and Raph could see that Leo was still fully geared up and totally dry.

            “Earth to Raphie,” Mikey called, peering around the door jamb at his brother.

            Leo looked up when he heard Mikey’s voice and his eyes connected with Raph’s.  For a moment time stood still as they stared at one another, Raph’s breathing ragged as his need became fully directed towards the brother he most desired.

            Then Don leaned in to say something to his older brother and Leo turned jerkily towards him, breaking eye contact with Raphael.

            “Ra~ph,” Mikey sang, his voice beginning to sound pouty.

            With three long strides, Raph bolted into Mikey’s room, slamming the door behind him.  Mikey was bouncing up and down on his bed, his bright blue eyes knowing.

            “Ya’ want it, ya’ got it,” Raph growled and promptly tackled him, tossing Mikey down on the mattress.

            Mikey wiggled under him excitedly, throwing his legs over Raph’s carapace.  The flushed, wanton look on Mikey’s face made Raph groan and his cock expanded until it could no longer remain hidden.

            “Shit, you’re such a fuckin’ tease,” Raph slurred, pressing his erection into Mikey’s tight entrance.

            “A tease . . . is someone who . . . doesn’t deliver,” Mikey panted, moving his hips to encourage Raph to sink deeper.  “I never t . . . tease.  I . . . excite . . . ‘cause I’m just . . . that . . . good!”

            His own erection made a proud appearance and Raph wondered vaguely how Mikey had managed to contain it for so long.  All rational thought vanished as he began to move, using his hips and knees to drive his cock into Mikey.  Bracing himself with one hand firmly planted on the bed next to his squirming brother, Raph reached between them and caught Mikey’s dick, stroking it with long, firm pulls.

            Mikey’s loud moans and garbled begging urged Raph on, his pace unrelenting.  Strong legs held him close and suddenly one of Mikey’s hands closed over Raph’s, forcing him to pump faster.

            Just as his brother climaxed, Raph lunged forward and caught Mikey’s shout of pleasure with his mouth, plunging his tongue inside Mikey’s warm orifice.  Mikey shook beneath him, grunting against Raph’s lips and vibrating them.  His insides spasmed around Raph’s cock and quickly sent the hot head over the edge into his own intense orgasm.

            For several long minutes they held their positions, tongues dueling as each of them reached full completion.  The need to breathe finally interrupted their final display of desire and they separated, Raph disengaging himself from Mikey’s body and rolling over to lie next to him.

            When he could manage to talk without gasping for air, Raph asked, “Damn Mikey, what got into ya’?”

            “You were pretty wound up when you came in,” Mikey said.  “I figured you needed a quick release before you popped a cork.”

            “Ya’ always were good at reading us,” Raph acknowledged with a yawn, growing tired as the afterglow set in.

            Mikey appeared to be growing sleepy as well, turning on his side to face Raph and scooting around to get more comfortable.  Raph watched him through half closed eyes, thinking that Mikey behaved at lot like Klunk did when the cat was bedding down for a long nap.

            “Hey, Raph, you still awake?” Mikey asked.

            “Yeah, but pretty soon I ain’t gonna be,” Raph answered, his voice slurring a little.

            “Did you really think you saw Leo on the roof tops with you?” Mikey asked, his curiosity overcoming his sleepiness.

            Raph rolled his shoulders, working a kink out as he thought about his strange experience earlier.  It was pretty obvious now that he was no longer angry that Leo had not stayed behind to spy on him.

            “Nah, I guess not.  It was raining pretty hard and lightning was still flashing in the distance.  I was probably seeing things, ya’ know, like . . . what does Donny call it?  Oh yeah, an optical illusion.  Probably just saw one of them furnace pipes or something,” Raph said.

            Mikey had that understanding look on his face again.  “And you turned it into Leo.”

            “I was sorta pissed at him at the time,” Raph pointed out.  “He started off the evening reacting like anybody would around a bunch of spoiled brats, then turns into a downer with the whole ‘I gotta be better than my base instincts’ act.  The all high and mighty Leo; phooey.”

            “You know, I haven’t seen Leo that worked up at the end of a fight in a long time,” Mikey said thoughtfully.

            Raph’s eyes were closed, his body relaxed as he muttered, “That kid reminded him too much of Karai; thinking that the rules don’t apply ta him ‘cause daddy is better than everyone else.  It’s that kind of shit that reaches right into Leo’s gut and fucks with him.”

            “For someone who understands him so well, you sure aren’t doing a very good job of communicating,” Mikey said.

            “Mikey.”  Raph’s eyes partially opened as he let out a huff of frustration.  “I understand part of him.  There’s a whole other part he ain’t shown ta any of us in a long time.  Not since before Master Splinter made him leader.  It’s like he made this spare room in his head and started putting pieces of himself inside, then locking the door ta keep us from sharing them.”

            “Could be he senses that one of us is holding stuff back too,” Mikey said.  “Have you ever known him to show his hand first?”

            “If ya’ think you’re being subtle, you’re sorely mistaken,” Raph said.  “I ain’t the reason he keeps secrets and the way we are when we’re together ain’t because I won’t give it up ta him.”

            “You two aren’t ‘together’,” Mikey said bluntly.  “What we have would be a whole lot sweeter if Donny and I didn’t feel like our asses were running interference for you two.  I’d like to think that when you screw me it’s because you’re totally turned on by me, and not because of your sexual frustration of not being able to screw Leo.”

           “That ain’t fair,” Raph snapped.  “Ya’ know damn well how I feel about Donny and ya’ and if you’re implying I’m using ya’ as a poor substitute for Mr. Tight Ass then you’re wrong.”

            “I’m glad to know that,” Mikey said, placing his fingers on Raph’s plastron and stroking it with just enough pressure so that his brother would feel the action.

            He could tell Raph was getting worked up again and Mikey didn’t want a new temper tantrum to send the hot head storming out of the room.  Mikey was being slightly manipulative in having used sex to make Raph pliable enough to talk, but Don had agreed with Mikey that getting both Raph and Leo to discuss what was going on in their heads was the only way to bring them together.

            Mikey stayed silent as he gently massaged his brother, watching as Raph’s tensed muscles began to relax once more.

            “You do know that Leo really cares about you, right?” Mikey finally asked.  “I think if something ever happened to you we’d have to put him on a suicide watch.  He just . . . he doesn’t want to come off as being weak in your eyes because he respects your strength so much.”

            Raph sighed, his eyes focused on the ceiling.  “He’s such an asshole,” Raph said, almost to himself.  “After all these years of us growing up together you’d think he’d know by now that I’d never think he was weak.  Slightly touched sometimes, but not weak.  Not afraid of anything either; shit, I love the way his eyes fire up when he’s in a fight and how he’s almost in two places at once ‘cause of how fast he moves.”

            “Yeah, I love that focused look he gets on his face when he’s studying someone or something,” Mikey agreed.  “And then how when he tells us his plan he’s always so sure and determined.  I keep thinking he’s gonna come up with a plan for this too, but I guess you’re too unpredictable even for him.”

            “I ain’t unpredictable at all,” Raph said.  “One of ya’ makes me horny and I wanna fuck.  Simple as that.”

            Mikey snorted.  “Simple for me and Donny ‘cause we give it up.  It’s pretty awesome too, a whole new kinda feeling that you really should try sometime.  In fact, I don’t get why neither of you will give in and bottom ‘cause letting someone else do the driving is really hot.”

            “So why are ya’ telling me?” Raph asked.  “Why do ya’ think I should be the first ta blink?  How do ya’ know he’d ever let go of that control if I gave it ta him even once?”

            “I figured that had something to do with it,” Mikey said.  “You two think this is some kind of challenge don’t you?  The one who gives in is the loser?  Right now you’re both losers until one of you man’s up enough to take the first step.”

            “Shut up, Mikey,” Raph said.  “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore; I just want ta catch some shut eye.”

            “Whatever you say, Raphie,” Mikey said, continuing to draw lazy circles on Raph’s plastron.  “If you want to keep it all bottled up, that’s your business.”

            “Good.  Keep doing that, it’s making me sleepy,” Raph murmured, his eyes closed.  Within minutes his head lolled on the pillow, his face rolling towards Mikey as sleep overtook the older turtle.

            For a long while after Raph had fallen asleep, Mikey continued to study him, his bright blue eyes wistful and compassionate.

TBC……………….


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,710  
> Rated: NC-17

            The physical act of lifting weights did more for Raphael than just hone his muscles; it also worked to relieve many of his mental burdens.

            As his body strained with exertion, his thoughts became more clear, less bogged down by the onslaught of his wildly shifting emotions.  His mental center swung away from his reaction to external stimuli, and moved towards the analysis of them instead.

            After his talk with Mikey, Raph had fallen asleep thinking about Leo and had dreamt of him.  In his dream, Leo had not run away from Raph’s roof top approach, but had instead continued to look at his brother with the same intense desire that Raph had imagined he’d seen on Leo’s face.

            When Raph reached for him, Leo had suddenly turned into a panther, snarling and slashing at the younger turtle.  Each cut excited Raph further and he’d shoved Leo down, working his way between the powerfully kicking legs and swishing tail.

            The rain fell all around them but left them untouched, as though they were the center of some domed enclosure.  Breathing hard, Raph had looked down to find that the body under him was Leo’s again, but his head was completely covered by a blue hood.  In his hands were his twin katanas and he’d used them to slice at Raph, each wound forcing blood into the hot headed turtle’s already swollen cock.

            Groaning with need, Raph had begun to push into Leo when he suddenly snapped awake, his erection standing tall and pulsing painfully.  His action had awakened Mikey, who despite his grogginess had assessed the situation expertly.

            Without a word, Mikey had climbed atop Raph and lowered himself onto his brother’s cock.  Riding him vigorously, Mikey had given Raph a much needed release, kissed him, and then rolled back onto the bed next to his brother.  Neither had said a thing throughout, being close enough to know it wasn’t necessary.  Falling back asleep was just a matter of a few minutes, and Raph passed the rest of the night with no further dreams.

            Raph had awakened the next morning not with thoughts of Leo and their problems, but with a vague idea starting to form about the murders.  It had percolated in his brain during practice; he and his brothers knew the streets of New York City better than even the police did, and he wondered if there was some clue in where each of the victims was found.

            Hastily setting the weight bar into place, Raph jumped up from the bench, grabbing a dry towel as he left the dojo.  Patting the sweat from his body, Raph once more headed towards Don’s sanctuary in search of answers.

            As he figured, Don was inside, typing away on his computer.  After Raph entered the lab, he pushed the door closed and walked over to where his brother was sitting.

            Don glanced at the door and then up at his brother.  “Something I can help you with?”

            “Yeah,” Raph said, grabbing a stool and pulling it over.  “Can ya’ look some stuff up for me and keep it ta yourself?”

            “That depends,” Don said.  “Are you going to use the information to do something insanely dangerous?”

            “No,” Raph answered with a touch of annoyance.  “I just wanna satisfy my curiosity about something.”

            “Okay then, what do you need?” Don asked.

            “Can ya’ find the addresses where each of those men was murdered?”  Raph asked.  “Then can ya’ pull up a city map and put some kinda marker on each address?”

            “Looking for a pattern?”  Don was already typing, his fingers a blur on his custom keyboard.

            “It’s been bugging me,” Raph admitted.  “We’ve been all over that area where those men were killed and it dawned on me that they ain’t all that far apart.  I’m wondering if there’s something about those buildings or the area in general that makes it important ta the murderer.”

            “Profiling the crime scene?” Don asked.  “I’m guessing that you learned as much as you could about the victims from the reports you looked at yesterday.”

            “The victims are all the same type, Donny.  Big guys, all in good shape, all damn capable of defending themselves against an attacker.  One of ‘em was even an amateur mixed martial artist.  It don’t make sense that they’d get themselves shoved from a tall building without putting up a fight,” Raph said.

            “So maybe your guess that the killer knocks them out isn’t so far off, only the person uses some kind of drug instead of brute force,” Don said, concentrating on plugging in each of the addresses he’d found.

            “That still don’t add up,” Raph argued.  “Almost all of them were seen with women and jokes aside, I ain’t met one that could toss a two-hundred pound man around like a sack of potatoes.”

            “How about a team?” Don asked.  “A man and woman working together.  Or a man working with a couple of women.”

            “For what reason?  That kinda thing happens plenty of times but the motive is usually robbery and they don’t resort ta murder,” Raph said.  “They sure as hell pick an easier target than a guy who can punch through a brick wall.”

            “Oh shell,” Don said in a quick exhale, staring at his computer screen.  “There _is_ a pattern.”

            He turned the monitor so that Raph could see the map he’d created.  For each location where one of the murders had been committed Don had placed a flashing yellow dot.  Touching a key, the dots lifted away from the street map, hovering above the spot that each represented.  When Don rotated the view, the dots formed a three dimensional image that looked exactly like a staircase.

            Eyes narrowed in concentration, Raph asked, “Can ya’ label those dots with numbers representing the first through last kills?”

            “Sure.”  Don pressed a couple of keys and the numbers one through five popped up on top of each yellow dot.

            “Looks like stairs, with the one being at the top,” Raph said. 

            “Or a very precise zigzag pattern,” Don offered, his head tilted slightly as he contemplated the onscreen model.

            “So if the killer stays on this pattern, can ya’ predict where they’ll go next?” Raph asked.

            Don’s fingers hovered over the keyboard as he eyed Raph.  “You know the police and probably more than a few reporters have figured out this pattern too, right?”

            “For shits and giggles, Don,” Raph said.

            Maintaining a skeptical expression, Don added a sixth yellow dot to the pattern and superimposed it over the city map.  When he returned the map to a street view, Raph inhaled sharply.

            “That’s where I was last night,” Raph said, leaning in.  “No wonder I felt like I was being watched.”

            “What was that?” Don demanded tersely.

            “Don’t get your shell in a bunch,” Raph said.  “I was just running ta burn off some steam and I must have subconsciously headed back towards the last crime scene.  After a while I got that feeling on the back of my neck like someone was tracking me.  That’s why I came home early.”

            Leaving out the part where he thought he’d seen Leo was instinctual.  Raph had already blown it off as a figment of his imagination when he was talking to Mikey and he wasn’t in the mood to hear Don analyze why that particular manifestation had looked like their oldest brother.

            “You were smart to get away from there,” Don said.  “The cops probably have the entire area staked out and we certainly don’t need for any of us to be seen while they’re searching for a murderer.”

            “Do ya’ think I’m an amateur, Donny?” Raph asked impatiently.  “I’ve had a lot of practice staying out of sight; from the cops, the Foot, the Dragons, Bishop – shell, seems like all I do is hide in the shadows.  Next thing ya’ know I’ll turn into another fucking Leo.”

            He hadn’t meant to bring Leo’s name into the conversation since he was pretty sure both Don and Mikey thought Raph was obsessing over him.  Raph couldn’t help the fact that they were all so intertwined into each other’s lives and that Leo played a more prominent role because he was their leader.

            _“And because I want ta fuck him,”_ said the hard to ignore little voice in Raph’s head.

            “No I do not think you’re an amateur,” Don said.  “I think you’re hard headed and a trifle self-involved.  The point I was trying to make was that we _all_ need to avoid that part of the city.  I should talk to Leo about that so he doesn’t arrange for us to patrol anywhere near the area shown in this pattern.”

            Raph didn’t respond to that immediately, his mind was too busy toying with an idea.  It finally dawned on him that Don was staring at him expectantly.

            “Yeah,” Raph said, offering a non-committal agreement.

            Don’s eyes narrowed.  “That wasn’t very convincing.  You aren’t planning to do anything foolish are you?”

            “Damn Donny, stop clucking over me like a mother hen,” Raph said in exasperation.  “I was just remembering that I was supposed ta do something with Casey tonight.  I need ta call that bone head and tell him we need ta meet in another section of the city.”

            “You don’t think Leo will ban us from going topside after he finds out about this?” Don asked, gesturing towards the onscreen map.

            “No, I don’t think he’ll ground us,” Raph said as he slipped off the stool and leaned over his brother.  “We don’t stop patrolling when the Foot are out looking for us or when we know Bishop’s up ta something, doesn’t make sense that we’d stop over some killer that ain’t got nothing ta do with us.”

            “What are you doing?” Don asked as Raph gripped the back of his chair and buried his face in Don’s neck.

            “You’re the genius,” Raph husked, moving his lips to within an inch of Don’s.  “Figure it out.”

            The kiss was barely more than a promise when a loud “harrumph” forced them apart, as neither had heard the door open.  Raph looked over his shoulder and Don leaned to the side, both simultaneously catching sight of Master Splinter.

            When he had their attention, Master Splinter lifted his portable radio and said, “Donatello, this device is hungry again.”

            “Hang on sensei, I’ll get some fresh batteries,” Don said, rolling away from Raph, who straightened up and turned towards their father.

            “Raphael, I am happy to hear that you intend to use caution during your excursions with Mr. Jones,” Master Splinter said, making it apparent that he’d heard at least part of the brother’s conversation.  “A murderer of this type is a deadly and unpredictable malignancy and while it is imperative that he be destroyed as soon as possible, it is not for us to do.  The danger to our family is twofold; on one side is a warped and sick mind and on the other is a police force dedicated to catching him.

            “We cannot afford to attract their attention.  This is not simply a matter of ensuring our secrets; if the police become curious about us it would distract them from their mission.  It would not serve anyone well for you to become involved in this investigation.”

            “But what if the cops can’t catch him?” Raph asked.  “There’s always a chance that we could run across the guy by accident during our regular patrols.”

            “You will of course not turn a blind eye to such a chance,” Master Splinter said, placing the radio in Don’s outstretched hand.  “What I ask is that you do not force the opportunity to occur.  I shall inform Leonardo of the dangers and relay to him my wishes in the matter.”

            “I hear ya’ sensei,” Raph said, watching as Don replaced the dead batteries with fresh ones.

            Don returned the radio to his father and tossed the used batteries into a box before returning to his seat.

            “Thank you, Donatello,” Master Splinter said, glancing at both of his sons before leaving.

            The purple banded turtle was staring at Raph as their father disappeared from sight.  Raph looked over at him, his face a neutral mask.

            “What?” Raph asked.

            “Whenever you say ‘I hear you’ it means you aren’t committing yourself to anything,” Don said.

            “Ya’ think ya’ got me all figured out, don’t ya’ Donny?” Raph asked as he lifted an eye ridge.

            Don shook his head.  “I’ve heard that before too.  It usually precedes you getting into trouble.”

            “Nah, I’m the picture of innocence,” Raph said as he turned towards the door.

            “Hey,” Don called after him.  “Weren’t you about to thank me for helping you with that map?”

            Raph was already out of the lab, but he spun around and leaned in, bracing himself on the door jamb.

            “Keep it warm for me,” Raph said with a cocky grin.  “I gotta make that call ta my man Casey and then I’ll be back.”

            Don snorted.  “Don’t take too long or I’ll start working on another project.”

            Raph took a quick look around the lair, easily locating the other members of the family.  Master Splinter and Leo were in deep discussion, no doubt about him, and Mikey was ostensibly playing a video game but probably eavesdropping as well.

            Walking over to the elevator as nonchalantly as possible, Raph kept his eyes on the doors as they slid open.  Only after they began to close behind him did he turn to see if anyone was watching him.  Fortunately, he spent a lot of time in the garage working on his bike, so none of his family appeared to pay him the least bit of attention.

            As soon as he was in the garage, Raph pulled out his shell cell and punched in Casey’s number.  The phone rang several times before being picked up by the answering machine.

            _“I ain’t here right now, leave a message,”_ the device requested.

            “Casey!  Answer your fucking phone!” Raph shouted, knowing his friend was probably asleep.  “Pick it up!”

            Raph heard a scratching sound, followed by a bang, and then his friend’s voice. _“This better be good,”_ Casey said, his tone raspy.

            “Ya’ gotta meet me tonight,” Raph told him, “on the roof of that building across from the liquor store where we saw the Dragons.”

            _“Did ya’ hear something?”_ Casey asked, his voice a bit clearer. _“Are they gonna try ta hit it again?”_

            “I’ll tell ya’ when ya’ get there,” Raph said.  “Eleven o’clock work for ya’?”

            _“Sounds good,”_ Casey said and then hung up.

            Raph was smiling as he put his cell phone away.  Having an adventure to look forward to always made him feel more alive, especially if that adventure might lead to him ridding the city of a sicko killer.

            The thrill of anticipation reminded him that he’d gotten Don all primed and ready to go for a ride on Raph’s rocket.  Chuckling to himself, Raph headed back down to the lair so as not to keep the genius waiting any longer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Leo hadn’t been visible much during the rest of the day and that suited Raph just fine.  When his oldest brother was preoccupied by something, it was a lot easier for Raph to do his own thing, like leaving the lair to meet up with Casey.

            Raph exited the lair via the tunnel entrance, fairly sure that no one had even noticed.  He was only a few yards in when Leo suddenly stepped out of the shadows to block his path.

            They stared at each other for a couple of minutes, neither saying anything.  If the fact that Leo had been lying in wait for him wasn’t enough of a clue that Raph’s big brother had something on his mind, the silent scrutiny sure as shell gave it away.

            The idea that Leo thought simply staring Raph down was enough to make him blurt things out struck the larger turtle as funny.  His lips curled upwards and he saw a quick flash come and go in Leo’s amber eyes.

            “I know that you saw me speaking to Master Splinter,” Leo said by way of an opening gambit.

            Raph shrugged.  “So what?  You’re always talking ta him.”

            “Then you know he relayed to me his concerns about our getting tangled into the middle of a police investigation,” Leo said.

            “And ya’ know he didn’t forbid us from going topside,” Raph said.  “What’s your damage?”

            Leo was too good at interrogation to give away his frustrations by taking a deep breath, but Raph could see him mentally do so.  Almost subconsciously Raph shifted his stance into something more defensive.

            The mood in the tunnel changed imperceptibly as Leo responded to Raph’s physical cue.  His shoulders pulled back slightly and his arms were no longer relaxed against his sides.

            “The more that I think about this, the less I like the idea of your going out to meet Casey,” Leo said, his voice still even.  “Don told me the two of you discovered a pattern in that murderer’s kills.  He also admitted that your interest in it makes him uncomfortable.”

            “It ain’t like he didn’t warn me he was gonna tell ya’ those things,” Raph said.

            “But maybe you thought sexing him up would be a good way to make him forget about actually doing so,” Leo responded.

            Raph felt his face heat up and his stomach start to churn with angry bile.  “I don’t fuck my brothers as a way ta manipulate them,” he said between gritted teeth.  “Don knows I don’t play like that and I thought ya’ would at least have enough respect for me not ta think that either.”

            Leo looked disconcerted.  “I shouldn’t have worded it that way.”

            “You’re right, ya’ shouldn’t have,” Raph said, pushing past his brother.

            “Raph wait,” Leo said as he caught Raph’s arm.  When Raph spun around, Leo released him.  “I didn’t come out here to get into an argument.”

            “Could have fooled me,” Raph snapped.

            “Can you at least grant me my concern?” Leo asked.  “I know that your protective instincts extend beyond the walls of the lair and I need to know you won’t get involved in a case the police are actively investigating.”

            “Ya’ talked ta Master Splinter,” Raph said.  “What did he tell ya’?”

            “He seemed to think you understood that you should stay away from this thing,” Leo said.

            Raph laughed once, harshly.  “But ya’ think otherwise, right Leo?  Ya’ think I’m gonna blow off all the warnings and stick my face right in the middle of it.”

            “Tell me you won’t,” Leo said softly.  His gaze sent a shiver down Raph’s spine.  “Tell me straight out you’ll stay away from the crime scenes.  Promise me.”

            “No,” Raph said, moving closer to Leo.  “I ain’t gonna do that.  Ya’ wanna know why?  ‘Cause ya’ shouldn’t have ta ask me ta watch my own ass.  Ya’ should have enough faith in me ta know I can do that without a babysitter.”

            “Why does this have to be about how you think I perceive you?” Leo asked.  “I don’t question your abilities Raph, but sometimes I do question your judgment.”

            “’Cause that’s your job ain’t it Splinter Junior?” Raph mocked lightly.  “You’re supposed ta know our weaknesses and make adjustments for them.  Ya’ knew from Don that I was planning to go out ta meet Casey tonight, but ya’ waited until I was leaving ta jump me about it.  Why is that?”

            For a moment Raph thought that Leo wouldn’t answer the question and that made him even more curious.  The usual pattern for confrontations of this type was for Leo to finally order Raph to stay home and for Raph to tell him to go to hell.

            Leo’s reaction to Raph’s ridicule was thoughtful rather than defensive.  Raph’s hands relaxed slightly as he waited to find out Leo’s real motivation for ambushing him in the tunnels.

            “I wanted to talk to you,” Leo said.  “I didn’t want you to leave the lair tonight because I was hoping we could find a place to be alone and work some things out.”

            The anger in Raph’s belly turned to butterflies; his gold eyes unwavering as they focused on Leo.

            Taking another step nearer, Raph wasn’t completely surprised when Leo held his ground.  Pulse quickening, Raph asked, “What did ya’ want ta work out?”

            “This rift between us,” Leo answered, lifting his head enough to maintain eye contact with his taller brother.  “We both know what we have is good, but it’s not good enough.”

            “So make it better,” Raph said, his voice husky.  “Talking ain’t the way ta solve this.”

            The brothers were separated by only a couple of feet and Leo covered that distance in less than a tenth of a second, his speed taking Raph’s breath away.  Their plastrons touched but neither lifted a hand, merely standing against each other as they spoke with their eyes.

            When Leo’s head tilted back slightly, Raph’s lips twitched and he lowered his mouth until it connected with his brother’s.  For a moment they held that pose, just their lips pressed together as they gazed at one another.

            Then Leo’s eyelids quivered and slid closed as he pushed harder on his brother’s mouth.  Raph responded immediately, grasping the edges of Leo’s shell and pulling the blue banded turtle flush against his body.

            A familiar aching need coursed through Raph’s veins, a rich fire that was unlike anything he felt with his other two brothers.  Somehow he knew it was reciprocated, especially when Leo churred and grabbed a double handful of Raph’s belt.

            They pulled and pushed at each other, mouths separating with heady gasps and coming together again, tongues twisting and fighting for dominance.  Raph couldn’t recall how his feet had left the ground when he suddenly landed hard on his carapace with Leo on top of him.

            Leo’s hand circled the back of Raph’s neck, keeping his brother’s mouth locked against his own, while his free hand caressed Raph’s bare hip.  With a grunt, Leo yanked one of Raph’s sais free and tossed it aside, sliding his hand beneath Raph’s belt until it came into contact with the knot that held it in place.

            As Leo worked the knot free, Raph reached between them and quickly unfastened Leo’s, sliding the sheaths from his back.  When Raph’s belt came free, Leo broke the kiss to stare down at his brother, desire flashing brightly in his amber eyes.

            Raph’s hand flashed upwards, curling over the back of Leo’s head so that he could yank his brother’s mouth back down to his.  They were both churring now, their bodies squirming against each other’s.

            Leo pressed a knee between Raph’s legs, rubbing his groin against his brother’s.  Raph quivered, his arousal growing, as a primal need to sink his meaty flesh into a warm body pulled a feral growl from his diaphragm.

            Gripping Leo’s shoulders tightly, Raph shoved his brother to the side, rolling with him as Leo lost his perch and landed on his carapace.  Their mouths separated and Leo’s eyes widened as he felt Raph shove both of his legs between the older turtle’s thighs.

            When Raph tried to capture his mouth once more, Leo turned his head aside.  His gasp was loud as Raph bit his neck, teeth clinging to flesh as Raph’s hand once more disappeared between them.

            Sliding a rough palm across Leo’s bulge, Raph shifted his aim lower, his fingers questing for the hot entrance he so desperately craved.  His mind didn’t register Leo’s grunt of displeasure, taking the sound to mean that his brother wanted more.

            One of Leo’s legs lifted so that he could bring his foot up against Raph’s hip and as soon as he made contact, he kicked, hard.  The move toppled Raph, sending him flying to crash into the nearby wall.

            He started forward quickly, wanting nothing more than to regain his place on top of his brother, but Leo had already jumped to his feet and backed away.  Slowly standing, Raph stared at his brother, seeing his hunger reflected in Leo’s eyes along with the same heavy confusion.

            They were both panting and needy, but neither moved.  It was all Raph could do to hold still, but he could see Leo’s hands were balled into fists, his entire demeanor giving off as loud a ‘no’ as his earlier actions had all but shouted ‘yes’.

            “Why’d ya’ stop?” Raph asked between heavy breaths.

            “It’s no good, we can’t be free of this,” Leo told him, his voice both deep and pained.

            Raph could feel his anger returning and pushed it down, desperate to understand what was happening between them.

            In an almost pleading tone, Raph asked, “Can’t ya’ just let go?  Ya’ don’t have ta be in control all of the time, Leo.  Let me show ya’ how we can make this work.  Come on bro’, don’t go cold on me, just let go.”

            “I can’t do that; you don’t understand,” Leo said, his distress clear.  “If you spend a lifetime building a wall to hide your feelings from enemies, the wall can’t have cracks in it and it can’t go up and down on a whim.”

            “That’s the fucking problem,” Raph grumbled.  “Ya’ got a damn wall between us.”

            “And what about yours?  Why do I have to relinquish who I am in order for this to work?” Leo demanded.  “You can drop the macho routine when we’re alone.”

            “I ain’t acting, Leo,” Raph all but shouted.  “This is who I am.  Why is that so hard for ya’ ta understand?  Fuck, I gotta get out of here.”

            “Wait,” Leo said, moving towards his brother as Raph retrieved his belt and sais.  “Stay here tonight; stay with me.  We can do other things.”

            Raph laughed bitterly.  “That’s like offering a guy table scraps when the rest of the world’s eating steak.  I don’t want a charity blow job, I want your ass; I want everything.  I want ya’ ta give it ta me ‘cause ya’ want to.”

            “We’ve had this discussion,” Leo said.  “I want you, you want me.  We’ve talked and talked about this and . . . .”

            “Maybe we ain’t gonna ever talk enough,” Raph interrupted.

            “That’s because we’re both talking and neither is listening,” Leo argued.  “Getting my mind to the place where I have the fortitude to keep us alive requires a level of discipline that I have to maintain at all times.”

            “Not in the bedroom,” Raph insisted.  “There has to be a safe zone where ya’ can just be one of us, Leo.  Ya’ gotta give me that kind of trust.”

            “That goes both ways,” Leo said.  “You want my trust; all I’m asking for is the same of you.”

            “Only I gotta let go first, right Leo?” Raph asked.  “That trust thing only works for ya’ if someone else gives in before ya’ do.  We’re talking about a simple fuck, why do ya’ have ta complicate it?”

            “This isn’t just about sex,” Leo snapped.  “Everything for you is always black and white.”

            Raph felt himself grow rigid.  “Ya’ got no respect for me at all, do ya’ Leo?  Ya’ think I’m some kind of simpleton.  Maybe it is better that we don’t ever get together, that way I don’t have ta make the effort ta change your mind, and ya’ don’t have ta make the effort ta sink ta my level.”

            Turning away from his brother, Raph strode through the tunnels, ignoring Leo’s call for him to come back.  His head felt like a melon about to burst and Raph knew he needed some air to cool the rage and pain churning inside of him.

            He knew Leo wouldn’t follow him; their argument was done for the night.  It wasn’t anything new; no great epiphany was revealed during this fight.  What they’d said was the same old thing; Leo’s shields were always up around him, and Raph was sick of Leo hiding behind them.

            Raph had no way of knowing that Leo’s eyes held an anxious misery as he watched his hot headed brother walk way.

TBC……………….


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,902  
> Rated: NC-17

            Raph could almost hear the echo of Leo’s voice still ringing around inside his head as he moved further away from his brother.  After a moment, walking wasn’t fast enough and he began to run.

            Frustration seemed to follow him through the tunnels and the need to escape the claustrophobic darkness became overwhelming.  As angry as he was, Raph was cautious enough to wait until he reached a safe exit before leaving the sewers.

            Standing in a dank alley that smelled distinctly of the wino that was passed out against a wall, Raph nevertheless took a second to breathe deeply.  A healthy flow of adrenaline was still rushing through his veins along with his leftover rancor and Raph knew he wouldn’t feel relief until he got the chance to hit something.

            He’d come so close to breaking down Leo’s walls tonight; at the start of their conversation Leo was contemplative rather than combative, and he’d come across as pliable and accommodating.  Leo’s attitude had seemed to signal a type of willingness that Raph hadn’t seen before.

            The larger turtle had even gotten Leo under him; had even crawled between his brother’s muscular legs.  But then there was a flash of reality in Leo’s eyes and the moment was gone.  It was a strange repeat of Raph’s dream, down to the unfulfilling ending.

            The walls of the building started to feel as though they were closing in on him and Raph leaped onto the nearest fire escape, jumping from railing to railing until he was on the roof.  The rain from the night before was gone, but a heavy fog still hung in the air, its breath cold and damp.

            Raph licked his lips as the moisture settled on them and realized he could taste his brother there.  The shiver that ran down his neck had nothing to do with the temperature.

            Closing his eyes, Raph lowered his head, letting the mist envelope him.  The anger that had come so quickly vanished just as fast, leaving him feeling empty and alone.

            Tonight had wound up being the same as every other time they’d tried to get past what was fast becoming an insurmountable barrier.  For a few precious minutes they would almost become one entity; feeling, thinking, and experiencing the same things, transcending themselves.  Then one or the other of them would balk and the fragile mood would snap.

            He’d seen that moment appear in Leo’s eyes; that sudden clarity at realizing that he was lying beneath Raphael.  For the briefest of seconds Raph could have sworn he saw panic in his brother’s amber orbs.

            Raph had wanted to pretend that look wasn’t there, that Leo would finally give in and that Raph wasn’t the cause of his misgivings.  That was a useless wish and Raph knew he was kidding himself if he thought Leo could be swayed by his younger brother’s animal magnetism.  Maybe if Raph could think as fast as Donny or if he had Mikey’s insight then he could have said something that would have stopped Leo from bolting away as though he’d been electrocuted.

            Talking about what he was feeling just wasn’t something Raph was good at doing.  He was only able to experience his emotions in one way and that was by expressing them physically.  Leo wouldn’t let him do that.

            Raph opened his eyes and looked around, seeing nothing but the swirling fog.  Truth be told, this stalemate with his oldest brother could be ended very quickly just by Raph giving in and allowing Leo to take him.  The idea wasn’t unpleasant; Raph could imagine looking up into Leo’s fierce eyes and drowning in the intensity of their focus.

            Clenching his fists and emitting a deep growl, Raph pushed that thought aside.  He wasn’t a performing circus animal there to entertain Leo; Raph was his brother and his lover.

            Almost lover.  No matter what they did together, they couldn’t be proper lovers until they surrendered themselves completely to that one final joining act.

            Leo had everything else; the leadership, the respect, the mastery of himself, the expertise in the art of ninjitsu, and the enlightenment.  Despite all of that awareness, Leo couldn’t manage to lower his guard and give Raph what he needed the most.  And if Leo didn’t care enough to do that for him, then Leo could go to hell.

            The return of his anger also brought back the desire to hit something and that in turn reminded Raph that Casey was out there waiting for him.  With a low curse, Raph started to run, leaping from roof top to roof top as he raced towards their designated meeting spot.

            When Raph arrived on the building across from the liquor store, Casey was nowhere to be seen.  As far as he could tell, there was no activity in the area to have drawn Casey’s attention and though Raph had gotten there late, he knew his friend would have waited.

           Prowling the roof top from one end to the other and finding no sign that Casey had ever been there, a sense of foreboding settled over Raph.  This particular building wasn’t within the area that fit the killer’s pattern, but there was a good chance that Casey had passed through it on his way to their rendezvous.

            “Shit,” Raph muttered, his voice low but full of feeling.  Turning quickly, he bounded across to the next building over and began to back track the route that he was sure Casey would have taken.

            The fog made the air feel oppressive and heavy, giving Raph the impression that he was plunging through a wet curtain.  Each passing minute made him feel more anxious and he had to consciously hold himself in check so that his impatience didn’t make him overlook anything.

            Through the gloomy silence came a small sound, almost lost in the weight of the fog, and it pulled Raph up short.  Holding his breath, he strained to hear it again, hoping it wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

            Once more he heard it; something that sounded distinctly like a low moan.  Twisting his head as he tried to pinpoint the direction from which the noise was coming, Raph again heard a moan, followed by a much louder groan.

            There were several small structures atop the apartment building across from him, and Raph was sure the noises were coming from behind one of them.

            “Casey!  Casey, where are ya’ man?” Raph yelled, sprinting towards the other building and leaping over to it with one gigantic lunge.

            He landed solidly and spun towards the structures.  As he was turning, something flashed past him, the shape indefinable in the murky darkness as it disappeared over the edge of the building.

            Out of instinct Raph started off in pursuit but stopped at the sound of another groan coming from behind him.

            “April!  Where ya’ going babe?  April, come back!”

            Raph turned and saw Casey stumbling towards him, his weapons and most of his clothes missing.  The man had one hand clasped to his neck and his jockey shorts were tented in the front by what could only be a massive erection.

            “Casey!  Holy shit!”  Raph hopped towards him, catching his friend as he tripped and nearly fell.

            “Raph?” Casey asked, blinking rapidly as though trying to focus.

            “Yeah, it’s me,” Raph said, helping Casey sit down.  “What the fuck is going on?”

            Casey looked up at him, a dazed expression on his face.  “Did ya’ see April?”

            Raph frowned and said, “No, I didn’t see April.  She’s out of town at her sister’s place, remember?  She left day before yesterday pal, ya’ know that.”

            “She was just here,” Casey insisted, shaking his head.  “Dammit Raph, ya’ had to have seen her.”

            He tried to stand up, but Raph’s hand was on his shoulder, keeping Casey from moving.  The man was obviously dizzy and disoriented, his eyes glazed, his mouth slack, and the erection he was sporting unwilted.

            “I was right here and I didn’t see April anywhere.  What happened ta your clothes?” Raph asked.

            “April . . . April said she f . . . followed me.  She wanted ta know . . . she asked me what I was doin’.  She said . . . said hunting for bad b . . . boys made her excited,” Casey told him.

            “Boys?” Raph asked.

            Shaking his head as though confused, Casey said, “No . . .  no must’ve said guys.  She wanted ta’  . . . ta’ ya’ know . . . inside the shed.”

            He was still holding his neck and Raph said, “Casey, move your hand.”

            Casey stared at Raph for a second then at his own arm like he’d just realized it was there.  Slowly taking his hand away, Casey looked down at his palm, seeing that the skin had a thin sheen of some slightly sticky substance adhering to it.

            Raph reached down and tugged a handful of Casey’s hair aside so he could see the left side of his friend’s neck.  It was too dark to get a good look, but there appeared to be a large circular discoloration on the skin and though there was no blood, some type of clear substance oozed from the wound.

            “Shit pal, I don’t think that was April,” Raph said, his tone conveying his concern.

            “Of course it was,” Casey said angrily.  “Ya’ think I don’t know my own girlfriend?”

            His temper seemed to dispel some of his confusion, his eyes clearer than they had been a few minutes previously.  Raph was also happy to see that Casey’s arousal had disappeared.

            “We need ta get ya’ off this roof,” Raph said.  “Can ya’ walk?”

            “Yeah,” Casey replied, managing to get to his feet with Raph’s assistance.

            “Let’s find your clothes; we’re going ta April’s place,” Raph told him.

            Casey refused to lean on Raph as he made his way back to what looked like a maintenance shed.  Several times he listed sideways without seeming to realize it and only Raph’s hand on his arm kept him from falling.

            While Casey used a wall to prop himself up, Raph gathered his friends clothing and then retrieved his bag and mask from where they’d been carelessly thrown down.  After Casey was dressed, his mask perched on his head, he reached for his bag but Raph shook his head.

            “I’ll carry this,” Raph said, pulling the strap across his chest.  “Ya’ ain’t got your sea legs yet and I sure as shell don’t need ta see your hairy ass falling off this building.”

            Casey frowned.  “Let’s get the fuck out of here.  I want ta know why April ran off.”

            Raph didn’t bother arguing with him that it hadn’t been April.  The important thing right now was to get his friend out of the damp air and someplace where Raph could get a better look at his neck.

            Leading the way, Raph took Casey directly over to the fire escape, not wanting to chance roof running while the man was still disoriented.  Fortunately Casey didn’t give him any crap about choosing to take the long route through the city streets to reach April’s shop.

            Raph watched Casey navigate the ladder and step onto the first landing.  As he was about to climb onto the ladder himself, Raph thought he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.  Pausing, he stared all around him, trying to penetrate the fog while the sensation that he was being spied on crawled along his skin.

            “Hey, ya’ gonna stand up there all night, Raph?” Casey hissed, catching Raph’s attention.

            “Yeah, I’m coming,” Raph answered, taking a last look around before leaving the roof top.

            As Raph’s head cleared the edge, a low murmur of sound reached his ears, a word carried on the wind, fanning out and dissipating so quickly he wasn’t sure he’d really heard it.

            “Ra~ph . . . .”

            He froze, but there was nothing else.  The rattling of metal as Casey traversed the remainder of the fire escape started Raph moving again, but the crawling sensation across his skin took a while to go away.

            Upon arriving at April’s shop, Casey let them in with the key she had given him.  Raph immediately noticed that the burglar alarm was active and quickly punched in the code to turn it off.

            Casey had begun to shake and his face looked flushed.  Raph placed the back of his hand to his friend’s forehead and found that Casey was very warm.  Becoming anxious, Raph maneuvered Casey onto the stairs and when he slipped an arm around his friend to help him climb, Casey didn’t push him away.

            “Sit down,” Raph ordered, shoving Casey onto the couch.  He then removed the mask from Casey’s head and tossed it aside before setting his friend’s weapon bag on the floor.

            Casey looked up at him, his eyes slightly feverish.  “April.”

            “Hang on,” Raph said, flicking on a lamp before stepping into the center of the living room.  “April!  April are ya’ here?”

            Raph was already sure the answer was no because he didn’t feel her presence.  Nevertheless, he went from room to room checking for her, but not only didn’t he find April, he saw no indication that she’d returned from her trip.

            “She ain’t here, buddy,” Raph told Casey, who was tipping over sideways on the couch.

            Struggling to sit upright, Casey began trying to stand.  Raph darted over and pushed him back down again.

            “We gotta go out and find her,” Casey insisted.  “She could be in trouble.”

            “Ya’ ain’t going anywhere,” Raph said.  “Ya’ got a fever and a nasty wound on your neck.  Before I go rushing off ta look for April, I’m gonna make a phone call and find out when she left her sister’s house.”

            He half expected an argument as he walked over to the telephone stand, but Casey’s chin had dropped to his chest and he looked partially out of it.  Robyn’s name was next to one of the speed dial numbers and Raph punched it in, keeping an eye on Casey as he did so.

            The phone rang three times before a female voice said, _“Hello?”_

            “Uh, yeah, Robyn?  This is April’s friend Don,” Raph said, knowing that April had told her sister that she had a friend named Don and not much more.  “Could I speak ta April?”

            _“Sure,”_ Robyn said. _“Hold on a sec’.”_

            Raph heard her call April’s name and then announce that Don was calling for her.  There was the scratching sound of a receiver exchanging hands and then April’s voice.

            _“Don? Is everything all right?”_ April asked with concern in her voice.

            “April, it’s me Raph.  Everything is peachy,” Raph told her, keeping his tone light.  “Casey thought he saw ya’ earlier and wouldn’t let up about it until we came over ta your place.  I think he caught a cold ‘cause he’s running a fever and I think he wanted it ta be ya’.  Wishful thinking, ya’ know?”

            April giggled. _“Can I speak to him?”_

            “I think he’d like that, hang on.”  Raph covered the receiver with his hand and told Casey, who was staring at him, “She’s still at her sister’s.  Don’t freak her out, okay?”

            “Okay,” Casey agreed, taking the phone from him.

            Casey spoke to April for a second or two and then listened for several minutes.  Raph grinned, knowing that she was reading him the riot act for going out in the damp air with a cold and most likely telling him what to do to get rid of it.  Finally telling her good-bye, Casey handed the phone to Raph and lay down on the couch with a groan.

            “Hey April, don’t worry about him, I’ll get Donny ta feed him some aspirin or something,” Raph said.

            _“Thanks Raph. I guess it’s true what they say about everyone having a look alike,”_ April said.

            “Oh yeah?” Raph asked with a laugh.  “No one ever said that about me.”

            She was still laughing when he hung up.  Raph gazed at his friend for another minute before digging out is shell cell.

            _“Raph? Where are you?  Is everything okay?”_ Don asked when he answered Raph’s call.

            “I’m over at April’s with Casey,” Raph said.

            _“I thought April was out of town,”_ Don said.

            “She is.  Look, it’s a  long story and I’ll tell ya’ later.  Ya’ need ta get over here with your med kit ‘cause something’s wrong with Casey.  He’s sick and has a big splotch on his neck that looks like a giant hickey.  There’s some kind of sticky stuff oozing out of it,” Raph explained.

            Don’s voice was all business.  _“Don’t touch it; don’t clean it. Don’t let him out of your sight and don’t let him eat or drink anything.  I’ll be right there.”_

            Raph tucked the shell cell away and sat on the coffee table to watch his friend.  Casey was shivering so Raph took the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it across the man, settling back to wait for his brother.

            It felt like an eternity passed when it was in fact only twenty minutes before Don came bounding up the stairs.  He and Raph exchanged nods as Don dropped his bag on the floor and knelt next to Casey.

            As Don peeled back Casey’s eyelid, Raph asked, “Did ya’ drive the Battle Shell?”

            “No, your bike,” Don said, shining a pen light into Casey’s eyes.  “I didn’t want to get caught in traffic.  The restaurants are closing.  Help me sit him up.”

            Together they pulled Casey into a sitting position and Don tipped the man’s head back against the couch.  Some of his hair was clinging to the neck wound, so Don gingerly brushed it aside, careful not to touch the discharge.

            “What did this?” Don asked.

            “I don’t know,” Raph answered.  “Casey said April followed him to the roof top and wanted ta play hide the hot dog.  I didn’t see her when I got there, but I think I saw something.”

            Casey groaned and wiggled against the couch, spreading his legs.  Raph glanced down at his lap and then back up at Don, a grimace on his face.

            “He came out from behind a maintenance shed wearing nothing but his skivvies and a boner.  Kinda like the one he’s got right now,” Raph said.

            Don didn’t bother to look as he dug into his duffel bag.  From it he removed a large magnifying glass and several small glass slides.

            “Can you grab the lamp and give me some more light here?” Don asked.

            Raph yanked the cover off the lamp before lifting it and holding it above Casey’s head.  Don peered at Casey’s neck wound intently through the magnifying glass, moving it around as he examined every square inch of affected skin.

            The frown on his face made Raph ask, “Ya’ see something?”

            “It looks like tiny little pin pricks covering his skin,” Don said.  “Thousands of them, with a fine fuzz sticking out of them.  Probably inserted through a suctioning device attached to his neck, judging from the coloration.  He seems drugged; I’m going to take a sample of this substance so can you hold his head still?  I don’t want it to touch my skin.”

            “Sure.”  Raph kept the lamp in position and used his free hand to brace Casey’s skull.

            One by one, Don carefully pressed four glass slides against several different spots on Casey’s neck.  Using great care, he placed a slide cover over each sample and then put all four of them in a slide case.  Grabbing a camera from his bag, Don took several shots of the wound before putting the camera away.

            “Okay, let’s get him cleaned up,” Don said, rising to his feet.

            “Cleaned up how?” Raph asked, placing the lamp back onto the stand.

            “A shower would be best,” Don said, leaning over to unbutton Casey’s pants.

            “Whoa, what are ya’ doing?”  Raph grabbed Don’s wrist to stop him.

            “I’m undressing him, what does it look like?  I want his clothes in case there’s evidence or some more of this mystery substance on them,” Don said, pulling his arm free.

            “Great,” Raph muttered, reaching down to remove Casey’s shoes.

            When Don leaned Casey forward to lift his shirt over his head, the man moaned lustily and tried to catch the turtle in his arms.  Don shifted out of his grip, letting Casey fall back against the cushions and then depositing the shirt in a plastic bag.

            “I think the fever is caused by Casey’s heightened sense of arousal,” Don said.  “His exposure to the cool mist outside relieved the need, but now it’s back full force.  Maybe the stuff in his neck is some sort of aphrodisiac.”

            “Marvelous,” Raph grumbled, helping Don get Casey into a standing position.

            Raph held him upright as Don peeled the man’s pants off, bundling them and shoving them into a separate plastic bag.  Casey’s erection sprang up beneath his jockey’s, which were damp with pre-cum.

            “We’ll remove them in the bathroom,” Don said hastily, seeing the look on Raph’s face.

            As they walked Casey towards April’s bathroom, Raph said, “This is embarrassing.”

            “How do you think he’ll feel once we snap him out of this?” Don asked with a light chuckle.

            Don turned the water on in the shower, adjusting the temperature so that it was on the cool side.  He was careful not to stand in front of Casey as he pulled the man’s shorts off, but Raph closed his eyes and turned his head.

            “It isn’t anything you haven’t seen before,” Don told him.

            “Casey’s my best friend.  His shlong is not what I want ta picture in my head every time I talk ta him for the next six months,” Raph snapped.

            Don laughed.  “Let’s get him under the water; that should remove his ‘shlong’ from your eyesight.”

            The cool water seemed to help.  After a few minutes Casey blinked and opened his eyes, the dazed look not as significant.  His erection diminished but was still apparent, so Don grabbed a toothbrush out of a cup on the sink and gently scrubbed the wound on Casey’s neck.

            That did the trick.  Casey’s arousal disappeared within minutes and he straightened up, pulling out of Raph’s grip.

            “What the hell?  Why am I in the shower with the two of ya’ staring at me?” Casey demanded, quickly covering his privates.

            “Damn pal, ya’ gave us a scare,” Raph told him, tossing a towel at his friend.  “Dry off and find something ta wear, me and Donny will wait for ya’ in the living room.”

            While they waited, Don tucked the toothbrush into a baggie and began stuffing all of the evidence he’d gathered into his duffel.  Raph replaced the  lamp shade and was standing back to make sure it was straight when Casey came out wearing the spare set of clothes he always left at April’s apartment.

            “I could use a beer,” Casey said, dropping onto the couch with a sigh.

            Raph looked over at Don who nodded.  In the kitchen, Raph thought about grabbing a beer for himself too, but decided against it.

            Popping the top off the bottle as he walked back to where Casey sat, Raph handed the cold beer to his friend and sat down on the table in front of him again.  Don took a seat in one of the armchairs and they watched Casey down half the bottle and then burp contentedly.

            “Do ya’ remember what happened on the roof?” Raph asked.

            Casey gingerly touched the wound on his neck and said, “Yeah.  It’s fucking weird pal.”

            “Tell us everything, from the beginning,” Don urged.

            “Well, I was headed for that building ya’ told me ta meet ya’ on,” Casey said, looking at Raph.  “Partway there I heard someone call ‘hey baby’, and when I turned around it was April.  I never even heard her following me or anything; guess I just figured Master Splinter’s ninja training was paying off.”

            He paused to take a sip of his beer and Raph frowned.  “She said ‘baby’, not ‘Casey’?” he asked.

            Casey seemed to think about it and then said, “Ya’ know, I don’t think she ever did say my name.  Anyways, I told her she shouldn’t be following me ‘cause it was too dangerous and that I’d walk her ta a cab so she could go home.  Instead of leaving, she pressed up against me and asked me what I was doing.  I told her we was hunting perps like we always do, and that’s when she said something about how hunting made her hot.

           “I wanted ta tell her ta save it for later but she started kissing on me and kinda pushing me backwards and before I knew it we were behind that shed.  Raph, I swear I tried ta stop her but she was all over me, doing stuff ta me that just drove me bat shit.”

            “Kissing your neck?” Don asked.

            The question reminded Casey of his wound and he touched his neck again.  “Yeah.  She started pulling my clothes off me and I let her ‘cause she was getting me all hot and bothered.  I decided we’d have a quickie and then she’d go home.

            “Actually I really didn’t have a choice, she had her hands in my shorts and was . . . um, ya’ know, holding my attention.  She kept sucking and nibbling on my throat and I couldn’t move my hands, hell I couldn’t move anything.  It’s the strangest damn feeling I’ve ever had in my life, I was kinda dizzy I guess ‘cause one second she was dressed and then I blinked and she wasn’t.”

            “You don’t remember seeing her take her clothes off?” Don asked.

            Casey shook his head.  “No.  I tell ya’ guys, she had me about ready ta bust with her hand on my dick, the only thing I could focus on was getting it into her before I went off prematurely.

            “I didn’t even hear ya’ Raph.  April just let me go, jumped up, and ran off.  I didn’t want her ta stop so I started calling and then managed ta get up ta go after her.  When I saw ya’ I thought she ran out naked in front of ya’.”

            “There weren’t any other clothes on that roof top,” Raph said.

            “Yeah, just like there wasn’t any April there either,” Casey said before finishing off his beer.  He plunked the bottle down next to Raph, pointed at his neck,  and said, “I got this present from somebody.”

            “I wonder if that matches the trauma the medical examiner found on the murder victim’s necks,” Don said thoughtfully.

            Raph appeared startled.  “Ya’ think he was attacked by that killer?”

            “Tell me it doesn’t sound that way to you,” Don replied.

            Pondering that for a moment, Raph said, “Ya’ could be on ta something.  A couple of the victims _were_ seen with someone close ta them and they _were_ found dead wearing nothing but their underwear.”

            “Shit I’m tired,” Casey muttered, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over him as he laid down.  “Next time ya’ want me ta go hunting with ya’ Raph, get there early.”

            His eyes closed and he dozed off.  Don and Raph sat silently contemplating him and then turned to do so to each other.

            Raph broke the silence.  “What do ya’ think, Donny?  Drugs, hypnosis?” he asked.

            “I don’t know,” Don said.  “I’ll tell you one thing though; this isn’t an ordinary serial killer.  Casey saw April and I’m convinced that the Leo you thought you saw was whoever or whatever this is.”

            Raph’s head jerked up.  “How’d ya’ know about that?”

            “Mikey told me, and before you get mad, he only did it because he’s worried about you,” Don said.

            “Did he run and tell Leo too?” Raph asked belligerently.

            “No he did not,” Don said.  “We both decided that the two of you didn’t need any help getting angry at each other.  That was before this happened though.”  He pointed at Casey.  “The rest of the family need to know everything now and both Leo and Master Splinter are going to be highly displeased with you for going back to that area and dragging Casey along.”

            Raph lifted a hand as though waving that away as a minor annoyance.  “I’ll deal with the yelling.  What about Casey?  We can’t leave him alone, we don’t know if he’s really all right.”

            “Take the bike home and come back in the battle shell,” Don said, tossing Raph the motorcycle key.  “I’ll stay with Casey.  If he needs help you won’t know what to do.  We can put him in the infirmary and keep a close watch on him.”

            Palming the key as he got up, Raph asked, “Ya’ don’t think she’ll come looking for him, do ya’?”

            “Who?  His attacker?”  Don shrugged.  “I doubt it unless you think you were followed.  Turn the alarm back on as you leave; if it goes off and you come in, I’ll know it’s not you.”

            “That ain’t funny,” Raph said as he walked towards the stairs.

            “Wasn’t meant to be,” Don told him.

            Glancing back at his brother, Raph caught a glimpse of the worry in Don’s dark eyes.

TBC………………


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,049  
> Rated: NC-17

            Master Splinter paced the floor in front of his sons, his tail twitching.  Raphael knew every nuance of his father’s body language, including the different messages that tail could convey.  His father wasn’t angry, he was agitated.

            That didn’t mean that Master Splinter hadn’t been angry earlier, when Raph and Don had brought Casey back to the lair.  After they had gotten the man settled on a cot in the infirmary Don had gone to confer with their father, bringing him back so that the more experienced elder could examine the wound on Casey’s neck.

            While he looked over the injury, he’d asked for an explanation and between them the brothers spun the tale of their evening’s adventures.  Casey slept through it all, blissfully unaware that he was the subject of a very terse conversation.

            After they had finished explaining what had led to Casey’s stay in their infirmary, Master Splinter had ordered the pair to wake their brothers and then to join him in the dojo.

            It was Don who had gone to relay their father’s wishes to Leo and Mikey.  The thought that Leo’s demand for answers would anger Raph wasn’t a chance Don wanted to take, so he told Raph to keep an eye on Casey.  If the man didn’t budge while Don was gone, then it would probably be safe to leave him unattended while they had their family conference.

            Of course, Leo _had_ demanded to know why Don was hauling him out of bed at their father’s behest, but Don had told him that Master Splinter would explain everything.  It turned out that was not factually accurate; as soon as his children were kneeling before him, Master Splinter had told Don and Raph to repeat the story they’d told him.

            Near the end of the second telling Master Splinter had begun to pace and when Don stopped speaking silence fell on the family.

            Until Leo turned his head to stare at Raph and said, “Telling Casey to meet you anywhere near . . . .”

            “No.”  Master Splinter cut him off.  “There will be no recriminations.  I believe that if Raphael had foreseen an attack he would not have left Mr. Jones vulnerable.  Their meeting was to take place on a roof top that was some distance from where this killer operates.  It was unfortunate that Mr. Jones’ route placed him in peril but we will not lay the blame for that at your brother’s feet.”

            “I didn’t think he’d go that way until I saw he wasn’t waiting for me, Master Splinter.  If I hadn’t gotten delayed I could’ve caught up to him before he was attacked,” Raph said hotly, glowering at Leo.

            “This should then be a lesson to all of you that we cannot afford to lose focus for even one moment,” Master Splinter said, moving to stand directly in front of Raph in order to gain his attention.  “While I did not forbid you going topside, I believe I made it clear that it would be prudent to avoid entirely that part of the city in which the killer is operating.  I will accept your assurances that the encounter with this killer was happenstance because I am sure you would not have purposely made such a rash decision.”

            Master Splinter fixed Raph with a hard stare, one that was difficult to meet.  Raph was already kicking himself for not realizing which direction Casey would come from and his father’s words just made him feel like a heel.  He should have been thinking about the situation he was going to ask Casey to get into with him and not about his screwed up relationship with Leo.

            “I damn well wouldn’t,” Raph finally muttered because his father was obviously waiting for an answer.

            “You are fortunate that your arrival was timely enough to save Mr. Jones’ life,” Master Splinter continued, apparently accepting Raph’s response.  “He is a large man who is adept at fighting and still he succumbed to this killer’s tricks.  This person is bold and determined which makes them a grave danger to the inhabitants of this city.  The authorities may be ill equipped to deal with such a threat.”

            The latter statement took Raph by surprise.  He was expecting his father to order them to remain below ground until the police caught their serial killer, but it didn’t sound as though that was what Master Splinter had said.

            “You told us that if we got involved we’d run the risk of being spotted by the detectives who are searching for the killer,” Don reminded their father.

            “Then you should do your utmost to avoid being seen,” Master Splinter said.  “This killer, this woman, attacked one of our own.  The roof tops have been our safe haven and I do not intend to turn them over to a crazy person.  You must figure out what this woman is and how to stop her before she kills again.”

            “Ya’ _want_ us ta hunt for her?” Raph asked.

            Master Splinter lifted a finger in the air as though emphasizing a point.  “I want the four of you to gather as much information as possible and devise a plan that will lead to her capture without placing yourselves in harm’s way.  You have the news reports and your experiences to date to use in compiling data about how she operates.  Raphael, have you seen or encountered anything else that might be linked to this woman?”

            If Leo hadn’t been kneeling right next to him, Raph might have hesitated about lying directly to his father, but he had no intention of handing his brother information that could be turned around and used against him.

            “No, sensei,” Raph said, keeping his eyes on Master Splinter.

            Raph heard Don take a deep breath and then exhale quietly, but neither he nor Mikey contradicted their hot headed brother.  From the corner of his eye, Raph saw Leo’s head jerk towards him, his gaze fixed on Raph’s face.  Leo always did know when Raph was either lying or holding something back, but the eldest didn’t call Raph out on it.

            “Very well,” Master Splinter said.  “I forbid anyone leaving this lair until you have reached an agreement on a viable plan for finding and capturing this woman.  Your plan must include a way to avoid being discovered by the authorities and a way to turn the killer over to them with enough proof to allow them to prosecute her fully.  Have I made myself clear?”

            In unison, the brothers answered, “Hai, sensei.”

            “Donatello and Raphael need some rest,” Master Splinter said.  “I will look in on Mr. Jones.”

            They remained kneeling as their father left the dojo.  Watching Master Splinter walk away, Raph decided he wouldn’t wait around for Leo to pounce on him about his obvious lie.  Raph could almost see the self-satisfied smirk on Leo’s face if he found out that Raph imagined he’d seen his oldest brother standing outside in the rain and staring at him longingly.

            “I need to do some research,” Don announced as soon as their father was out of sight.  “I’ve also got the samples I gathered off Casey that I have to process.  They may degrade over time so I shouldn’t wait.  I’ll sleep later.”

            “Well I’m hungry,” Mikey said as he got up from the floor with his brothers.  “Anyone for breakfast?”

            This was Raph’s cue.  “I’m gonna take a shower and then go ta bed.  I’ll catch up ta the rest of ya’ later.”

            He was out of the dojo before Leo could say anything.  Going straight to the bathroom, Raph locked the door and then jammed one of his sai between the door and the frame so that Leo couldn’t force his way in.

            Standing beneath a hot spray of water, Raph couldn’t help but laugh humorlessly at himself for the effort he was making in trying to avoid his brother.  Anyone would think he was five and attempting to hide the fact that he was the one who ripped the spine off of Leo’s favorite book.

            Shaking his head, Raph turned his focus on the ritual of bathing in order to shove Leo out of his mind.  Soap up, rinse, scrub the carapace, rinse, release and cleanse his penis, and return it to its protective pouch.

            That concentration worked just fine up until he touched his own cock.  A sudden memory of Leo holding him down on the bed while sucking Raph off came into his head and Raph started to harden.

            Gritting his teeth, Raph grabbed the shower valve and turned it to full cold.  The shock to his system nearly made him cry out, but it did the trick and erased the beginnings of his erection.

            Toweling himself off, Raph dislodged the sai and unlocked the door.  He decided that if Leo had the nerve to be outside waiting for him then Raph was going to lift him bodily and toss him to the floor below.

            Fortunately for both of them, Leo was nowhere to be seen.  Raph guessed that he was probably in Don’s lab trying to get their genius brother to tell him what Raph was hiding.  Good luck with that, Raph thought, chuckling as he entered his room and locked the door.  Donatello knew how to keep things to himself better than any of them, that’s why they all chose him as their confidant.

            In his hammock, Raph draped one of his legs over the side and kicked it back and forth, hoping that the gentle swinging motion of his ‘bed’ would put him to sleep.  Rather than shutting down though, his mind turned to thoughts of what had happened to Casey and then crawled inexorably towards the thing uppermost in his mind, his problem with Leo.

            Raph was damned tired of thinking about it and wished like hell he could stop.  Just give up and accept their situation as it was.  Half of his brain thought that’s what Leo wanted as well, but the other half kept reminding him of how Leo had sounded when he’d asked Raph to stay home with him.

            Leo had said he wanted to work some things out.  Raph snorted, how the hell were they going to work anything out when even a simple conversation blew up in their faces?

            His thoughts shifted with a touch of envy to Don and Mikey and how good their relationship was.  Everything was smooth between them, no major blowups other than normal brother stuff.  They didn’t keep things from each other, Raph realized.  They always told each other what they thought and felt.

            Raph liked to talk to Don.  Donatello could be damned sarcastic at times but somehow he avoided being judgmental and therefore didn’t set off any of Raph’s defensive mechanisms.

            Grinning, Raph thought about how Don would always give him something to do to keep his hands busy when he sensed that his temperamental brother needed to talk.  Working next to Don kept Raph from feeling self-conscious, talking while he pounded a dent out of a metal fender, sanded, polished, painted; all busy work that Raph could focus on while his words spilled out.

            Contrast that with the way Mikey dealt with Raph’s moods.  Mikey always knew exactly when Raph needed to have his steam valve turned in order to release the pent up anger, frustration, and tension that was building inside of him.  The nut ball would push Raph until his brother blew up and went after him, risking bodily injury just to give Raph an outlet for his boiling emotions.

            Mikey never broached the subject that was truly bothering Raph, he always taunted his hot blooded brother with something petty and innocuous so that their fight wasn’t personal.  Raph knew that Mikey could take anything he dished out and therefore Raph didn’t have to hold back.  Neither did he worry that the thing that was really bothering him would slip out because he was too busy telling Mikey how he was going to beat the snot out of him for his youngest brother’s latest transgression.

            It was funny how after a physical altercation with Mikey, Raph was worn out enough to actually talk about what was eating at him.  Mikey never teased him about that stuff; he listened and offered what was usually pretty sound advice.

            Raph had a sudden epiphany as he realized that in his relationship with Don and Mikey he was always the taker and they were the givers.  His interactions with them were always about Raph and his needs.  He’d never thought about that before and felt pretty ashamed when it dawned on him.

            Maybe that was part of his problem with Leo, Raph decided.  Leo just wasn’t the kind to coddle anyone.  He might very well perceive Raph’s moods as some sort of weakness and Leo didn’t abide that sort of thing.  Raph loved Leo for his strength but it irked him to think that his brother might consider him to be flawed in some way.

            With a growl, Raph sat up.  Realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, he decided that he would make a conscious effort to do something for someone else and stop being such a taker.

            Raph still wasn’t in the mood to deal with Leo but as he headed downstairs he didn’t see anyone but Mikey, who was propped up on the couch cushions watching television.  Going straight to the infirmary, Raph first checked to see that Casey was resting comfortably and then picked up his friends golf bag.

            Grabbing a bottle of cleanser and a couple of clean rags from Don’s stash, Raph settled into a chair and quietly emptied the bagful of weapons.  First he cleaned the bag itself and then one by one he wiped down the tools of Casey’s trade.

            This was something that Casey himself did on a regular basis; Raph had watched him remove the dirt, grime, and blood from his things on numerous occasions when he was hanging out at his friend’s apartment.  He always found it amusing that Casey’s place was such a mess, but that his bag and weapons were as spotless as they could be.  Raph often wondered about Casey’s priorities.

            It didn’t take him long to finish the clean up because Casey hadn’t gotten much of a chance to use his weapons in the last few days.  Neither of them had anything close to a workout which was why Casey had sounded so enthusiastic about meeting up with Raph.

            Shoving the weapons back into their bag with more vigor than was necessary, Raph cursed himself out for not telling Casey about his plans to search for that serial killer.  While he had Casey on the phone, Raph should have given the man a heads up about the pattern created by linking the murder sites.  Raph hadn’t said anything though, other than for Casey to meet him, and that was because Raph’s only worry was that someone would overhear his conversation.

            Right as he was about to indulge in a really solid bout of self-loathing, Raph’s stomach began to growl.  He immediately noticed that he could smell the bacon that had undoubtedly been cooked by Michelangelo.

            Raph walked over to look down at Casey again, noticing how deeply his friend slumbered.  There was something a little unnerving about it, but Don had said Casey was all right, so Raph pushed his own concerns aside.

            Figuring that by now everyone else would be done in the kitchen, Raph made his way there to grab some breakfast.  In the middle of the table there were several slices of now cold bacon on a covered dish.  Raph poured out a bowl of cereal, added milk, and sat down, munching on bacon between mouthfuls of cereal.

            He was half done with his meal with Leo walked in.  Only one word came to mind when Raph saw the one brother he was trying to avoid and that was, _“Fuck!”_

            Raph kept his head down and focused on eating, purposely ignoring Leo.  His brother went straight to the refrigerator and got himself a bottle of water, downing half of it before glancing in Raph’s direction.

            “Couldn’t you sleep?” Leo asked, his tone mild.

            “Nah, I’m too wound up,” Raph answered without looking up.

            “I was just in the dojo running through some katas,” Leo said.  “Do you want to spar a little?  It might help you relax.”

            Leo was behaving as though they hadn’t, just a few hours earlier, had a serious argument following a tussle for sexual dominance.  The idea that Leo could behave so cavalierly about something that was eating at Raph aggravated the red banded turtle.

            “Yeah, that’ll help a lot,” Raph said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.  “Slamming my body into yours, rolling around on the floor, pressing up against each other; sounds like a great way ta ease the tension.”

            Raph could hear the frown in Leo’s voice as his brother said, “So now we can’t even practice together?”

            “Ya’ know, I always did like the way ya’ can just blow stuff off like it don’t matter,” Raph said, finally looking up at his brother.  “Ya’ got some kind of special on, off switch for that?”

            Leo flattened both of his hands on the table and leaned towards Raph.  “Flying into a rage whenever things don’t go my way solves absolutely nothing.  Our problem in the bedroom shouldn’t overlap with our daily lives, or hadn’t that dawned on you?”

            “Our ‘problem’ is our life,” Raph snarled.  “The deep down reason ya’ don’t want me ta top ya’ is that ya’ think you’re better than me.  There ain’t no quid pro quo in that, fearless leader.”

            “Is that why you’ve decided to start lying to Master Splinter?  Because you think you won’t get equal treatment?” Leo demanded.

            There it was, the thing Raph had wanted to avoid, and he’d stepped right into it.  He should have gotten up and walked out of the kitchen as soon as Leo opened his mouth.

            “Ya’ really think I’m jealous of the fact he made ya’ the leader?” Raph asked, dodging the question.  “I don’t give a fuck about that.  You’re the one who likes ta play brain chess, I just wanna hit stuff.”

            “Then why lie?” Leo insisted, hanging onto that point like a pit bull.

            Raph slowly stood up, planting his hands on the table as well, and getting right up in Leo’s face.  “Prove I did.”

            Leo’s eyes narrowed.  “I grew up with you, Raphael.  I know how you . . . .”

            “Dudes, you gotta see this!”  Mikey exclaimed, bursting into the kitchen and interrupting them.

            He was gone before either of them could acknowledge him.  With a last hard look at Raph, Leo turned to follow his kid brother.  A half second later, Raph stormed after the pair.

            They were headed towards the television array, where Don was already standing.  When he saw them coming he lifted the remote to playback the news broadcast he’d just taped.

            A news reporter stood on a sidewalk in front of an area cordoned off by police crime tape.  Behind her, investigators gathered evidence from the middle of the street.

            _“Police have just stated that the latest death does in fact fit the pattern of the ‘high rise killer’,”_ the reporter said.  _“This brings the death toll attributed to that murderer to six. This latest victim did not live in the building he was purportedly thrown from and markings on the body seem to indicate that he was a member of the street gang known as the Purple Dragons.  Police are withholding the victim’s name pending notification of next of kin.”_

            Partway through her report, the footage switched to tape from the previous night, showing a scene lit by artificial lights as the medical examiner’s team prepared to transport the body.  The dead man’s face was not visible, but he was a big, muscular individual with a huge purple dragon tattooed across his chest.

            _“We will continue to follow this breaking story and the mayor’s news conference at noon to bring you the latest developments in this case. May Compton, channel six news.”_

            Don switched off the TV when the coverage ended and turned to look at his brothers.

            “Too bad that wasn’t Hun,” Mikey said in a voice lacking his usual humor.

            “She needed to kill,” Don said.  “She missed her chance with Casey and picked the next available target.”

            “All five of her prior victims appeared to have been vetted,” Leo said.  “She knew them well enough to be invited into their homes.  Why the change with Casey and now the Purple Dragon?”

            “Maybe Casey wasn’t a change,” Raph said.  “Maybe she was there watching the police work the crime scene and saw me and Case on the roof top.  He sure as shell fits her victim profile.”

            “But you guys said she didn’t even know his name,” Mikey said.

            Raph shrugged.  “So she figured he runs the roof tops a lot and just waited for an opportunity ta catch him alone.  When that fell through she happened on the Purple Dragon and lured him up on the roof instead.”

            “I recognized the buildings around the murder sight,” Don said.  “That address is outside her killing pattern.”

            The brothers grew silent as they thought about that, then Leo said, “Maybe she was forced to change venues because she missed her chance to kill Casey?  The pattern you found could just be a coincidence.”

            “Line of sight,” Mikey said suddenly.

            “What?” Leo asked, staring at the youngest.

            When Don and Raph turned their eyes on him, Mikey told Don, “I looked at your map dude.  That section of the city is zoned for a bunch of new high rise apartments and condos, but they have to maintain line of sight between the park and that old watch tower at Lexington.  The only way the developers could do that was to build in a zigzag pattern.”

            “I remember reading about that,” Don said.  “The watch tower is a historic landmark and there’s a big festival every year to commemorate its completion date.  The festival draws thousands of clock enthusiasts from all over the world to the nearby park.  At the stroke of midnight on the big clock in the top most part of the tower they set off fireworks.  The whole thing is a big money maker for the city so they wouldn’t allow any of the new buildings to interfere with the view.”

            “She lives in the area,” Leo said decisively.  “Somewhere on one of those buildings she has a vantage point where she can see people come and go from the other apartment complexes.  As soon as she spots a man that fits the victimology, she finds out everything she can about them.”

            “So then how does she make them think she’s someone else?” Raph asked.  “Even a master of disguise can’t be a short, petite blond one minute, a six-foot tall gay man the next, and a feisty red head a couple days later.”

            He did not add that she had somehow made herself appear to be a mutated turtle as well.

            “I may be able to answer that question, at least partially,” Don said, tossing the remote on the couch.  “I’ve only had a few hours but I was working off sort of a crazy theory.  Come on and let me show you.”

            They trailed after Don, going to his lab where he took a seat in the chair in front of his computer.  As they gathered around him, he typed in a few words and brought up an online magazine called “Paranormal Hidden”.

            “What the shell?” Raph croaked.

            “Don’t jump to conclusions,” Don said quickly.  “You’d be surprised at how accurate some of these stories are.  They’ve published a few things about the EPF that would have made Bishop shut them down if they were big enough to be on his radar.”

            “’I Married My Alien Baby’,” Mikey read.  “Yep, sounds credible to me.”

            Don scrolled to another screen bearing the headline “High Rise Killer Not Human”.

            Eyes wide, all three of his brothers stared at Donatello.

TBC…………………


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,140  
> Rated: NC-17

            Raph was the first to break the incredulous silence.  “Come on, Donny, this ain’t research, it’s science fiction.”

            “You would be surprised at how much of this is actually science fact,” Don told him.  “Along with mainstream news, I keep my eyes on several of these obscure news outlets.  This reporter in particular has been staying right on top of the high rise killings ever since the second one occurred.”

            “’Dallas A. Fairbanks’?  Really?  Even his name sounds phony,” Mikey said.

            “That’s because it is,” Don replied with a light blush.  “His writing is too good for this kind of webzine, so I started digging around to find out more about him.”

            “That means Don hacked into their computers,” Mikey translated.

            “His real name is Doug Villela,” Don said without missing a beat.  “Ring any bells?”

            “The same Villela who covers the crime beat for the New York Post?” Leo asked.  “His reporting has broken open more cases than half the detectives on the force have managed.  It can’t be the same man.”

            “It is, trust me,” Don said.  “He’s an award winning journalist by day, and by night he chases the boogieman.  No doubt his reputation would suffer badly if anyone ever knew, so he uses a pseudonym and sells his stories online.”

            “But why would he take that chance?” Leo asked.

            Don shrugged.  “You’d have to ask him.  All I know is a couple of his past articles were spot on, including one he did about ‘fake aliens’ created by a secret government agency in order to secure continued funding.  Sound familiar?”

            “You’re right Donny,” Raph said.  “Bishop would skin him alive if he thought anyone paid attention to this online garbage.”

            Looking at Raph, Don said, “After you came across the crime scene for victim number five and got interested in this killer, I started looking back at Villela’s stories.  It turns out that he mentioned seeing a pattern in the killings as well, not just the fact that the victims are all of a particular type, but also the geographical pattern.”

            “He didn’t print that did he?” Leo asked quickly.  “The area will be swarming with citizens trying to get a look at the killer.”

            “No, he didn’t say anything other than he discovered a pattern in the kill sites,” Don said.  “That doesn’t mean some other enterprising soul might not do what Raph and I did and figure it out for themselves.  The webzine doesn’t have a large following fortunately, and most of those people don’t live in New York.  I think Villela and the police will be focusing on men living in the area who fit the victimology.  Neither Casey or Raph mentioned seeing officers on the roof tops, so I doubt if they’ve figured out the killer spends her time high above the city.”

            “If this reporter doesn’t know any more than the rest of us, then why’d ya’ bring him up?” Raph asked.

            “But he does know more,” Don answered.  “He has something we don’t; an informant inside police headquarters.  Villela quoted his source as saying the police detectives have tapes of a couple of the dead men just before they were killed.  One of them shows victim number three leaving a bar at the time the bartender said he picked up a girl there.  The thing is, the film shows the man going out the door by himself, but his head is turned to the side and he’s apparently talking to someone.”

            “Woo~wee~hooo!” Mikey sang, doing his best scary music impression.  “Our killer’s a ghost?”

            “I rather doubt that,” Don said.  He reached over and pulled a picture up on his computer screen.  “Villela got his hands on a copy of that tape.  I watched it and the man’s body language reads exactly like someone escorting another person out of the door, only you can’t see the other person.  You can even see other patrons stepping aside as though they are letting someone pass.  But if you back the tape up and look in the mirror behind the bar, this is what you see.”

            The picture was a little grainy, but Don had drawn an arrow pointing to the victim.  Though it did appear he was looking at someone next to him, no one was there.  However, Don had placed another arrow directing the eye to a spot on the bar’s mirror.  In it was the fuzzy reflection of something that walked upright, was close to six feet tall, and appeared to be covered in hair.

            “What the hell?” Raph muttered, staring intently at the picture.

            “Are you sure this wasn’t manufactured by Villela himself for its sensational value?” Leo asked, ever the skeptic.

            “If it was someone other than Villela, I’d give you high odds that it was photo shopped,” Don said.  “It’s still possible, but considering the source, I’d bring the odds way down.  I think this is authentic.”

            “I like werewolf stories as much as the next guy,” Mikey said, “but in none of them is the werewolf invisible.”

            “The picture is pretty bad, but if we’re going to follow conventional wisdom about the way a werewolf looks, this isn’t one,” Don said.  “For one thing, there are no visible ears or snout.  In fact, you can’t even see the mouth or eyes.”

            Pressing a sequence of keys, Don brought another picture up on the screen.  It showed a man walking along a sidewalk, his face turned to the side and his mouth open as though he was talking.  On the street next to him, the tinted window of a parked car reflected the man’s image along with that of a furry blur.

            “This is victim four,” Don said.  “Villela posted this picture but couldn’t get his hands on the entire tape.  The film was captured off an ATM camera.”

            “Give me some theories, Donny,” Leo requested.

            “Let me start with what happened to Casey,” Don said.  “I think that the trauma to the throat that the Medical Examiner was quoted as mentioning is actually a kind of giant hickey.  The men our killer chooses are big and very capable of defending themselves.  They would fight back unless she had some way of paralyzing them.  The residue that I scraped from Casey’s wound appears to be a type of neurotoxin, injected into the skin of the victim’s neck.  From there it travels into the blood stream, placing the victim into a nearly paralytic state.

            “I’m pretty sure that there are dual substances at work here and that while one of them renders the victim pliant, the other acts as an aphrodisiac.  The fuzzy stuff I brushed from his neck is like fine hairs with a small bulbous root containing a substance I can’t quite identify because it was degraded by the water from the shower.  If I had the kind of equipment the ME has access to, I could probably give you more definitive answers.”

            “Is that why Casey was ya’ know . . . .” Raph trailed off but slowly lifted his thumb from a clenched fist.

            “Aroused?” Don translated.  “I think so.  The thing is that it’s still having that effect on him.  Since he fell asleep, he’s had an erection every hour or so.  He’s not waking up though, he moans and thrashes on the cot until it fades, then he falls into a deeper sleep.  I haven’t tried to wake him but I may have to just to get him to take care of the problem with his hand.  If he can.”

            “What’s that mean, if he can?” Mikey asked.  “Does that stuff she puts in guys make it so they can’t get off?  Dude, that’s a fate worse than death!”

            “Stop joking,” Raph snapped.

            “I think the toxins she inserts in their bloodstreams make it hard for them to ‘get off’ without her,” Don explained.

            “Won’t the stuff eventually wear off?” Leo asked.

            “I’m sure it will,” Don said, “but I have no way of knowing how long that will take or how much pain Casey’s going to go through before he gets to that point.  If he starts straining for relief, he could even suffer a coronary.  I need more information and a better sample of the secondary toxin before I can come up with a cure.”

            “So what’s her purpose in doing any of that?” Mikey asked.  “Is she having sex with the guys before killing them?”

            “Casey said she looked like April,” Raph said.  “He said April came up ta the roof top for the express purpose of sexing him up.”

            “And how could she appear to be April before she ever touched Casey?” Leo asked.  “I could understand it if she’d poisoned him first because the toxins you describe could have a hallucinogenic effect.  The men she’s killed each saw her differently and so did the people around them.”

            “She’s a shape shifter,” Mikey offered, his blue eyes wide.  “They can make themselves look like anybody.”

            “Stop guessing,” Raph growled, both tired and confused enough to be impatient.

            “Bear with my imagination for a bit,” Don requested, looking around at his brothers.  “Villela’s story expands on the ME’s report a little more than the news reports have done.  He says that tests conducted on the dead men show that none of them copulated before death.  Now, it’s pretty obvious that’s what she wanted from Casey before Raph scared her away, so why didn’t she consummate a union with these other men?”

            “Maybe they didn’t have what she wanted after all,” Mikey said.

            Don nodded, giving Mikey a gratified look.  “Or what she needed.  If she’s hunting by line of sight, as Mikey suggested, then let’s say she spots a target that fits her particular parameters.  She takes some time to learn enough about them to be able to emulate someone close to them, someone they are intimate with.

            “She manages to connect with these men and to go home with them.  Once they are alone, she injects the toxic cocktail into their bloodstream and begins to have sex with them.  At some point before they actually have intercourse, she rejects and kills them.

            “When the killings first started, there were some questions as to whether they were actually suicides.  A family member of the first victim said the man suffered from high blood pressure and took medication to regulate it, but other than that was both healthy and happy.  Villela said a toxicology report on the second man showed that he had marijuana in his system.”

            “I’ll bet there’s something wrong with all of the men she’s killed,” Mikey said excitedly.

            “The martial artist?” Raph asked.

            “Steroids,” Don said.  “It’s just a guess, but if he’d participated in that sport for any length of time, he probably needed injections to control joint pain.  Our Purple Dragon friend was no doubt a walking drug laboratory.  Casey was probably a perfect specimen, but Raph interrupted before she could finish with him.”

            “That’s all well and good,” Leo said.  “You still haven’t addressed how people see her as someone different each time.”

            Mikey’s hand shot up and he all but shouted, “Succubus!”

            “Give it a rest, Mikey,” Raph muttered.

            “I don’t think so,” Don said, answering Mikey’s guess.  “According to legend, Succubi are evil spirits who have sex with men, usually ones who are sleeping.  Repeated encounters would result in failing health or death.  Some reports allege that the demon drains the men of their blood following intercourse.  However, what we have in this situation are six victims, seven if you count Casey, who have not engaged in sex with their attacker.  Considering some of the things we’ve seen in our lives, I do have to say I believe that this killer is supernatural.”

            “Damn Donny, you’re spinning a yarn three feet wide and two feet thick,” Raph said.

            “Something alien possibly?” Leo asked.

            “There’s always that chance,” Don acknowledged.  “We have plenty of home grown legends that could just as easily explain this phenomenon though.  Do any of you know what a ‘glamour’ is?”

            “Yeah, it’s one of them fashion magazines April leaves all over her apartment,” Raph answered.

            Mikey chuckled and opened his mouth to say something derogatory about his brother and high fashion, but Raph’s angry glare and Leo’s hard look made him think better of it.

            Don rolled his eyes and continued, “A glamour is an enchantment; a spell or witchery.  It’s almost like shape shifting, but rather than actually taking on another form, its practitioner has the ability to _appear_ to be someone else.”

            “The killer is a witch?” Mikey asked.  “Aren’t they supposed to be old and gnarly looking?  I never heard of a witch that looked like a werewolf.”

            “Ya’ wanna tell me some chick hypnotizes people into seeing things, I’ll go along with ya’,” Raph said.  “But I ain’t buying the wicked witch of the west theory.  There ain’t no such thing.”

            “Standard witch lore doesn’t actually fit here, so that’s not my hypothesis,” Don said.

            “You’re saying that this killer has the ability to look like anyone it wants in order to gain the trust of its victims?  She learns as much as possible about the men she stalks so that she knows what form to take?” Leo asked.

            Don shot a quick look at Raph as he formulated his answer.  Raph instantly knew that Don was trying to avoid telling Leo that Raph thought he’d seen him.  Since there was no way the killer could have researched Raph, the answer to part of Leo’s question was no.

            “That would have been hard to do with Casey,” Don finally said.  “I think it was random chance that she saw him at all.  Also, the Purple Dragon was a last minute substitution for Casey, and she certainly hadn’t enough time to learn anything about him.”

            “She knew Casey’s name,” Raph said.

            “Yes, because she probably spotted the two of you at the previous crime scene.  No doubt she heard you say his name,” Don told him.  “I think the killer might have the unique ability to read her victim’s minds to a certain extent, not everything of course, but I think that her system might be tuned into the strong emotion of desire.  Like a tuning fork, she can find that frequency in her victims and become to them the object of that desire.”

            “But Donny, the victims aren’t the only ones that see her like that,” Mikey said.

            “The stronger her victim’s desire, the stronger her glamour,” Don said.  “Do you want me to quote you statistics about how frequently in a twenty-four hour period the average male thinks about sex?”

            “Nope,” Mikey said hastily.  “You can skip the dry stuff.”

            Leo’s face wore a concentrated expression as he said, “You’ve told us a lot of things you think this woman isn’t; tell us what you think she is.”

            “I think she might be a skinwalker,” Don said.

            His brothers absorbed that for a second and then Mikey said, “Okay, not fair.  I couldn’t have guessed that one because I don’t know what it is.”

            “A skinwalker, according to Native American stories, is basically a bad witch who is capable of transforming itself into some type of animal, most notably a wolf.  According to legends, they can even use mind control.  They are purported to be very powerful; capable of running faster than a car and jumping incredible distances,” Don said.

            “Mind control; reading minds,” Leo said.

            Don wriggled in his chair, sitting up straighter.  “Suppose, just suppose, that the skinwalker legend has a basis in fact.  However, rather than a human who has chosen the ‘witchery way’ and transforms itself with magic, there is in actuality a being who’s natural appearance is akin to that of a wolf.”

            “But you said it’s not a shape shifter,” Mikey said.  “That sounds like a shape shifter to me.”

            “It doesn’t change shape, Mikey.  It takes an image from your mind and executes a ‘glamour’ to fool your eyes into seeing the person you most want to see,” Don said.

            “Oh, oh!” Mikey exclaimed excitedly.  “Like a . . . like a mirage?”

            “Yes, something like that,” Don said.  “I think the residual power put out by that glamour is like the ripple effect you see when you look across a hot landscape.  Those waves are what effect the optics on a camera lens, making the skinwalker appear invisible.  A mirror however, merely reflects what is standing in front of it.”

            “Making it possible to see this killer in its natural form,” Leo said.

            “So is it a he, a she, or an it?” Raph asked.

            “I’d be prone to calling it a she,” Don said.  “The word ‘it’ can get confusing, and all of her victims have been men.”

            “When did ya’ have time ta learn all of this?” Raph asked.  “It ain’t been but a few hours since we brought Casey back with us.”

            “I started researching the murders yesterday after Mikey and I talked about your interest in the case,” Don said, glancing significantly at Raph.  “I guess your curiosity piqued mine.”

            Raph translated that look to mean that Don became interested in the killings after Mikey spilled his guts about Raph thinking he’d seen Leo.  The red banded turtle had a fleeting thought that their situation was starting to sound like one of the bad soap operas that Master Splinter was addicted to.

            “This thing, this skinwalker,” Leo said, attempting to clarify Don’s theory, “she’s some type of supernatural creature who can discern a man’s innermost desire and then what, casts a spell to make him believe she’s that person?”

            “Casting a spell probably isn’t completely accurate, but it’ll do,” Don said.

            “Then in her ‘glamour’ form she seduces the man, injects the toxic cocktail into his bloodstream by attaching herself to his neck, and renders him powerless to fend off her advances.  Then somehow she determines that these men are less than the perfect specimen she’s looking for and kills them.  Why?  Why doesn’t she just walk away?” Leo asked.

            “She gets pissed,” Raph answered.  When his brothers looked at him he said, “Well shit, put yourself in her shoes.  She spends time finding a guy that fits the bill, spends time researching stuff about him, finds a way ta get close ta him and probably puts out some energy ta make him see what he wants ta see, gets him alone, and then works him up.  She’s probably excited the whole time thinking he’s gonna be the one.  When she finds out there’s something wrong with him she has a hissy fit and chucks him out like garbage.”

            “It’s as good an explanation as any,” Don granted.

            “Can it be killed with conventional weapons?”  Leo’s eyes were glued to the reflection shown in the parked car’s window on Don’s computer screen.

           “Now that I can’t answer,” Don said.

            “Speculate then,” Leo urged.  “How did the Native Americans say to kill it?”

            “Well,” Don began, thinking back to what he’d read, “They believed that the witchery had to be reversed.  Supposedly it could be killed by informing the witch that they’d been discovered, but somehow I doubt yelling ‘skinwalker’ from the roof tops will do the trick.  The other way was to shoot a bone bead into the witch.”

            “A ‘bone’ bead?” Leo asked.

            “A pellet, or shot, made of bone.  Most often it was loaded into a shotgun.  When the suspected skinwalker appeared, the person being witched would blast away.  Or if they knew who the witch was, they would go after them.  In the Navajo stories, a skinwalker would make a person sick by blowing ‘corpse powder’ on them.  The bone bead was a way to return the corpse powder, thus restoring things to their natural balance.  The Navajo people are great believers in spiritual harmony.”

            “Harmony,” Mikey said, as though he’d just had an epiphany.  “Hey Don, what if the only way to get Casey back to normal is to kill the witch?  You know, like in some werewolf and vampire stories where if you kill the creature that turned them, the victim is cured.”

            “You might be on to something,” Don said.  “Part of what she did to Casey involved that mental link she used to pull the April vision out of his mind.  Maybe the skinwalker is still connected to him in some way.  It would certainly explain those periodic bouts of arousal and his inability to reach completion.”

            “Are ya’ saying she’s still fucking with Casey’s mind?” Raph asked indignantly.  “We need ta hunt that bitch down and kill her ass right now.”

            “It’s morning Raph,” Don said mildly.  “She won’t be out and we can’t be.”

            “Then as soon as it gets dark,” Raph said decisively.  “How much ya’ wanna bet a pair of sais through her gut will do just as good a job as a damn bone bead.”

            “We are not chasing after this thing until we have a plan in place for finding and dealing with her,” Leo said, drawing an angry glower from Raph.  “While it seems obvious that the police aren’t going to be successful in catching her, we still have to contend with their presence.”

            “She went off pattern,” Raph growled.  “The cops got two choices now, they can keep working the same area or they can scrap that plan and try ta come up with a new one.  Either way, we ain’t gonna be anywhere near them.”

            “They certainly aren’t going to pull all of their people out of that area of the city,” Leo insisted.  “As a matter of fact, despite what Don said about you not seeing any officers on the roofs, I think her killing of the Purple Dragon is probably going to focus more attention there.  We need a viable way to avoid the authorities while we’re hunting.”

            “I could rig something on the shell cells that would monitor the frequency on their police radios,” Don offered.  “If an officer is nearby, the shell cell would vibrate and we’d know to get away from there.”

            “How long would that take?” Leo asked.

            Don shook his head and sighed.  “I doubt I could have them ready for tonight.”

            “That ain’t good enough,” Raph fumed.  “The time between her kills is getting shorter.  She’s either hungry or desperate and if we don’t find her tonight she’s gonna kill someone else.  And who knows what’s gonna happen ta Casey while we’re sitting on our thumbs.”

            “Nevertheless, we aren’t going tonight,” Leo told him.  “Not only does Don need to reconfigure our shell cells, but he needs to get a better handle on a way to counteract whatever she injected into Casey.  We need to fully understand what we’re going to be facing.”

            “I think we should also find a way to make a couple of bone beads,” Don said.  “Since we haven’t any guns, we’ll have to fit them on the end of a blow gun dart.  That’s going to throw off the weight of the dart and we should practice shooting it before we go hunting.”

            “For fuck’s sake!” Raph rasped out.  “What’s wrong with the way we usually go after the bad guys?  Hide in the shadows ta avoid the cops, find this bitch, and deliver her back ta whatever hell she came from.  I don’t want another innocent death on my conscious.”

            “Maybe if you told us what it is you’re hiding, we’d be better equipped to deal with this killer,” Leo snapped at him.

            Raph glared at him, eyes flashing.  “Ya’ can’t stand it, can ya’ Leo?  It’s killing ya’ thinking there’s something I’m not telling,” Raph asserted forcefully.

            “Killing is the perfect word for it,” Leo said.  “I don’t want your secrets killing any of us.”

            “Fuck ya’!” Raph spat, jabbing a finger in Leo’s face.  “Ya’ think grounding me is gonna force me ta tell ya’ stuff now?  Maybe I already told what needs telling ta Don and Mikey and it ain’t none of your fucking business.”

            Leo’s expression turned icy at those words, his body going rigid.  Glancing quickly over at his other two brothers, Leo’s eyes returned to Raph’s and he said, “No one leaves the lair until I say they can.”

            Without waiting for a response, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the lab.  Raph slammed his fist down on Don’s desk, making everything on it jump a couple of inches into the air.

            Don made a grab for his computer, steadying it.  Mikey set a hand on Don’s shoulder, squeezing it as both of them contemplated Raph’s body language.

            When Raph made no move to leave the room, Don and Mikey looked at one another, their eyes reflecting a shared pain.

TBC………….


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,594  
> Rated: NC-17

            “That went well,” Don said in a deceptively quiet tone.

            “You know, when we keep a secret for you Raph, we kinda have the expectation that you won’t throw us under the bus,” Mikey said.  “Thanks for making Leo think we’re all conspiring against him.”

            Angry that Leo had walked out on him, Raph spun around, intent on snapping at Mikey.  As usual, his youngest brother didn’t look in the least bit afraid or intimidated.

            The harsh words died in Raph’s throat when he noticed Mikey’s hand on Don’s shoulder.  One look at Don’s face told Raph that his normally gentle brother was livid.

            Every instinct in Raph’s body begged that he lash out at the nearest available target, but he swiftly quelled that reaction.  Don very rarely got truly angry, but when he reached that point, his tongue could raise welts that hurt worse than any beating Raph had ever received.  The pain from Don’s outbursts lasted a lot longer as well.

            Mikey’s hand on Don’s shoulder was as much a warning to Raph as it was a way to calm Donny.  Raph remembered that he’d made himself a promise to start giving more and taking less, and decided that had to include trying to control his emotional tantrums.  He might have a difficult time doing that with Leo, but he didn’t need to let it bleed over into his relationship with Don and Mikey.

            “I fucked up, okay?  I just wanted him ta stop digging at me the way he does and I said the first thing I could think of ta shut him up.  It pisses me off that he thinks I can’t judge the importance of something and that I need ta run ta him about every fucking thing.  He’s a damn control freak,” Raph told them.

            “Maybe you _aren’t_ a good judge of what’s important,” Don said, his voice low and deliberate.  “The only reason I know about your sighting the night before last is that you blurted it out to Mikey in a fit of anger.  He had enough sense to realize it was meaningful which was why he told me about it.

            “If I hadn’t gotten that piece of information we might have gone after that woman thinking she couldn’t mess with our heads unless she had physical contact with us.  Suppose one of us had died because of your lapse, would it ever have occurred to you that you’d made a mistake?”

            Raph felt his face heat up as Don chided him.  This was exactly why no one liked to have Don mad at them; he had a way of peeling off layers of skin as he pointed out your shortcomings.

            “Ya’ know why I didn’t say anything,” Raph muttered, his mouth set in a stubborn line.

            “Pride is considered the mother of all sins for a reason,” Don said.  “It makes you incapable of differentiating between being righteous and being self-righteous.”

            “I ain’t like that,” Raph insisted.

            “Bro’, Don and I both know you and Leo desperately want to be together,” Mikey said.  “Neither one of you will give in ‘cause you’ve got this whole alpha male barrier between you.  If that’s not pride, I don’t know what is.”

            “He’s the one on the high horse,” Raph said.  “’Don’t do this unless I say so, don’t do that until I tell ya’ to’.  Who the fuck wants that kinda shit in the bedroom?  Why does everything have ta be done his way?”

            “Do you want him to try to lead us without knowing what the shell is going on?” Don asked.

            Raph slapped his forehead in frustration.  “No I don’t, okay?  I just admitted that I fucked up, what more do ya’ want?  I ain’t spreading my legs for him as part of some package deal either, so don’t ya’ even suggest it.”

            “This whole thing is turning into a stupid matter of principle for both of you, and Donny and I are caught in the middle,” Mikey said.  “You’ve got a problem with letting Leo lead in the sack and Leo doesn’t want anyone to see him in a vulnerable position.  Maybe you should both take a vow of celibacy since neither of you wants to bottom.”

            “Screw it, I’m sick of this shit,” Raph said heatedly.  Turning to Mikey, he said, “Ya’ take me, Mikey.  Right now, your bed.”

            Mike and Don exchanged glances.  Clearing his throat, Mikey said, “Uh uh, no way dude.”

            Raph glared at him.  “Why not?  Tell me ya’ ain’t wanted ta fuck me.”

            “Sure I have,” Mikey acknowledged.  “I dream about your hot ass.  But I’m not gonna be a stand-in for Leo and I’m not having sex with you when you’re pissed at him.  When one of you guys is with me, I wanna know that’s ‘cause you want to be with _me_.”

            “I want ta be with ya’ and I want a damn solution ta this mess,” Raph said with a low growl.

            “Interesting how Mikey makes the grade as a potential seme but I don’t,” Don said.  “Does everyone in this family see me as that submissive?”

            Raph spun on him.  “Fine, ya’ can fuck me.”

            “No,” Don said distinctly.

            “Why the hell not?” Raph asked, raising his voice slightly.

            “Same reason as Mikey’s,” Don said.  “You’re making the offer as some sort of consolation prize and as a way of rubbing it in Leo’s face.  You know as well as we do that you want Leo to be your first and we aren’t taking that from you just because you’re having a fit.”

            “I am not having a fit,” Raph said.  “What makes the two of ya’ so damn sure I want Leo’s dick in my ass at all?”

            “The same reason why we’re sure Leo wants you in his,” Mikey said.

            “There’s so much sexual tension between the two of you we could cook hot dogs off the sparks,” Don said.  “If one of us was to pop your proverbial ‘cherry’ you’d regret your decision to let us do it for the rest of your life.”

            “And you’d resent us for not reading your mind and knowing you didn’t really want us to do that in the first place,” Mikey said.  “You’re just shooting off your mouth.”

            Raph had a sharp retort ready, but before he could deliver it, he was interrupted.

            “Boys!” Master Splinter shouted.

            The three brothers moved at once, knowing from the tone of their father’s voice that they were wanted immediately.  Stepping out of Don’s lab, they spotted Master Splinter standing in the center of the lair, with Leo right beside him.

            Raph felt his stomach start to churn, sure that Leo had told their father about Raph’s lie, and how his siblings had all conspired to keep that secret from both Leo and Master Splinter.  Their sensei would of course demand that Raph tell him the secret and even if he refused, neither Mikey or Don was going to risk their father’s wrath by maintaining their silence on the subject.

            He was already picturing the smug look on his oldest brother’s face when he learned that the skinwalker had presented herself as Leo to Raph.  The object of his greatest desire, plucked from his own subconscious.

            “Leonardo has told me your hypothesis, Donatello,” Master Splinter said.  “You believe that this ‘High Rise’ killer is something called a skinwalker.”

            Raph was startled out of his gloom by the question and risked a quick glance at Leo.  His brother was focusing his attention on Don, his face an expressionless mask.  Apparently Leo had decided not to drag Master Splinter into their fight.

            Don seemed to be just as surprised because his mouth opened and for just a second, no sound came out.  Finally he managed to say, “Yes father.”

            “According to what Leonardo has said, it would be a good idea for you to arm yourselves with bone beads,” Master Splinter said.  “Must the bones be human?”

            “No,” Don answered.  “In my research I found that the Native Americans mostly used bovine bones in order to fashion the beads.  I think it could be practically any kind of bone.”

            “How about chicken bones?” Mikey asked.  “We’ve got a couple of whole chickens in the fridge.”

            Don shook his head.  “Practically any kind other than poultry,” he amended.  “Chicken bones are too brittle.”

            “If they used cow bones then we should stick ta cow bones,” Raph said. 

            “We certainly wouldn’t want to take a chance on something unknown,” Leo said in an even voice, he gaze directed at Raph.  “That might prove dangerous.”

            Raph squared his shoulders, acknowledging the dig silently.  He knew he deserved it, but it went against the grain nonetheless.

            “Rib eye steaks would work,” Don said.  “The bones in those are large enough to make some beads from.  I remember April saying that she’d bought some rib eyes for Casey’s birthday and put them in her basement freezer.”

            “I’ll go after them,” Leo said.  “I can avoid going topside by using the tunnel that goes directly into her basement.”

            He was looking at Master Splinter, who nodded in agreement at his suggestion.  “Do you want one of your brothers to accompany you?”

            “No, sensei,” Leo said, his voice chilly.

            “April isn’t going to like finding out we swiped her birthday present for Casey,” Mikey said, trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere.

            “We’ll just have to replace them later,” Don told him.

            “Casey can replace them,” Raph said firmly.  “We’re doing this ta bale his ass out of the wringer.  If he balks, I’ll just remind him that there’s two versions of his story that I could tell April.  In one he got jumped by something that injected shit in his neck, in the other version he was making out with it first.”

            “Blackmail dude,” Mikey said with a grin.  “I like it.”

            He lifted a closed fish and Raph bumped it with his own, smiling back at his little brother.  Then both of them noticed Leo’s icy stare and the grin faded from Mikey’s face.  He looked down at his feet, shuffling them awkwardly, and Raph began to comprehend the full impact of his nasty remark to Leo earlier.  It was bad enough that his relationship with Leo was strained, but his big brother was now isolating himself from all of his siblings.

            That wasn’t quite fair to them, Raph thought a bit angrily.  Don and Mikey had a right to show Raph some loyalty without worrying that Leo would castigate them over it.  This might be a clan and Leo its leader, but it was by no means a dictatorship.

            “I’m going with ya’,” Raph announced suddenly, staring hard at Leo.

            The silence in the lair was a dead weight.  Master Splinter looked from one son to the next, feeling the uneasiness between them.

            “I think I can manage to collect a few steaks without your assistance,” Leo said in as cold a manner as he could muster.

            “Ya’ never know, maybe that thing followed us ta April’s and it’s lurking in her basement,” Raph retorted, his tone slightly mocking.

            “I’m sure it would have triggered April’s alarm if that were the case,” Leo said.  “Donny, did you receive a signal that the alarm had been tripped?”

            Don cleared his throat, not liking the way Raph and Leo were facing off.  “No.”

            “Leonardo will make the trek alone,” Master Splinter said, sensing a need to separate his two most stubborn children.  “Please let me remind the four of you that whatever personal difficulties might be plaguing you, they should be set aside until this danger has been removed.  If you cannot manage to work through them on your own, I am always available for consultation.”

            “We’re fine, sensei,” Leo said.

            “Yeah, everything’s peachy,” Raph concurred.

            Master Splinter eyed the two of them suspiciously and then sighed, recognizing that his sons would try to keep him in the dark for as long as possible.  It still surprised him to realize that they thought they were keeping anything secret from him.

            “Please apprise me then if there is a change in either your plans or in Mr. Jones’ condition,” Master Splinter said before walking back towards his room.

            Don latched onto Raph’s arm before their father was out of sight and said, “I need you to come to the infirmary with me and talk to Casey.  Maybe he’ll snap out his drugged state if he hears your voice.”

            Raph started to shake Don loose, but noticed that Master Splinter had stopped at his bedroom door to look back at them.  As much as he wanted a showdown with Leo, he wanted to keep his father out of it even more.

            “Fine,” Raph said in a huff and turned his back on Leo.

            As they walked away, Raph heard Mikey murmuring something to Leo.  When he didn’t get a response, Mikey tried again and Leo said, “Not now.  This isn’t the best time to talk about it.”

            “When you get back, okay Leo?” Mikey asked.

            Raph didn’t hear Leo’s response and was pretty sure he wasn’t going to give Mikey one.  Don tugged Raph into the infirmary when the larger turtle slowed, but Raph glanced over his shoulder out of curiosity.  He saw Leo heading toward the exit into the tunnels and Mikey staring forlornly after him.

            Nothing that Raph or Don tried pulled Casey out of his sleep.  Just as his brother had said, Casey wasn’t waking up, but other than the periodic erections, he didn’t seem to be in pain.  Raph was in the infirmary long enough to witness one of those and it wasn’t something he wanted to see ever again.

            When Don asked him if he wanted a sedative to help him sleep, Raph realized just how tired he was.  With an entire afternoon stretching out in front of him and nothing else to do, Raph dragged himself upstairs and borrowed Don’s bed.  The genius’ scent was soothing enough to ease Raph’s troubled mind and he instantly fell asleep.

            Raph woke up when his stomach requested a shipment and he made his way downstairs.  The lair was quiet; much more quiet than it should have been, and after snagging a couple of slices of cold pizza out of the refrigerator, Raph did a quick survey of the various downstairs areas.

            He could hear Master Splinter’s television when Raph went past his father’s room, but the dojo was empty.  No one was in front of the television array but when Raph looked upstairs towards Mikey’s bedroom, he saw that the door was closed.

            Leo’s door was open and his room dark.  Starting to get worried, Raph headed straight for the infirmary, but side stepped when he heard sounds coming through the open door to Don’s lab.

            Looking inside, Raph spotted Don doing something with a couple of test tubes.  He waited until Don set them down and then tapped lightly on the door frame so as not to startle the genius.

            Don glanced up and Raph saw the deep frown on his brother’s face.

            “What’s wrong?” Raph asked.

            “I’m still trying to determine the chemical components of the stuff the skinwalker injected into Casey’s neck,” Don told him.  “I found a couple of undiluted bits of that fuzz on the collar of his shirt, but so far its secrets are still eluding me.”

            “I guess that means Casey ain’t doing any better,” Raph said.

            “No, he isn’t.  I’m timing the intervals between erections because I want to try something when the next one occurs.  I hope it works because this isn’t good for his health,” Don said.  “Besides the possibility of injury to his heart, his inability to orgasm could cause permanent damage to his penis.”

            “Let me know one way or the other, will ya’?” Raph asked.  “Did Leo come back?  I don’t see him anywhere.”

            “He’s up in the garage working on making beads from the bones we took out of April’s steaks,” Don said.  “The only thing he said to me all afternoon had to do with the size of the beads and the best way to turn them into projectiles.  He cut Mikey off at the knees when Mikey tried to talk to him.”

            Raph could see how upset Don was.  “He’s gonna make a martyr out of himself, ain’t he?  Just ta prove a point,” Raph said.

            “I don’t know about that, but what I do know is that I hate when he starts brooding and refuses to communicate with us.  This is a bad time for him to be acting that way,” Don said.

            “I’m gonna talk ta him,” Raph said grimly.  “I can’t make it worse but maybe I can fix things so he ain’t taking it out on anybody but me.”

            “Good luck with that,” Don said, turning back to his work.

            On his way up to the garage in the elevator, Raph tried to think of the best way to start his conversation with Leo.  Most of the words that came to mind sounded confrontational even to him and he understood Leo well enough to know that once his brother’s defenses came up the chances of him actually hearing what Raph said were minimal.

            By the time the doors slid open and he stepped into the garage, Raph had decided to wing it and let Leo’s mood dictate what he would say.

            The sound of a drill drew Raph to the far side of the garage, into an area they used as a shop.  Leo was standing at a work table, wearing safety glasses as he delicately drilled a circle into a large bone using a tiny hole saw.  Next to him were several bone beads, a collection of small metal pins, and a twelve-inch blow gun.

            Raph walked slowly towards his brother, making Leo aware of his presence.  When Leo popped the newest bead out of the drill and tossed it onto the table next to the others, he looked up to acknowledge his brother.

            “Ya’ decided ta go with the short gun?” Raph asked.

            “Yes, it’s easier to carry and I can put more power behind the darts.  I have to make sure that the bead itself is embedded in that things flesh, not just the metal tip of the dart,” Leo answered.

            “I guess that means you’ve decided ta be the shooter,” Raph said.  After he said it he realized that his words sounded like a challenge.

            Leo took a breath and released it.  “Do you remember when we last practiced with the blow guns out at Casey’s farm?  We were outside and the wind was blowing?”

            Raph nodded.  “Yeah.  Ya’ outshot all of us.  Mikey was so bad he pegged one of April’s blouses that was hanging out ta dry and put a big hole in it.  Don was so concentrated on tryin’ ta calculate wind speed that he forgot ta inhale before he put his mouth on the gun and nearly swallowed a dart.”

            “And you?” Leo asked, his eyes locked on Raph’s.

            “I sucked too, I’ll admit it,” Raph said.  “I can hit anything with my sai, but I ain’t got the patience ta send one of them little darts into something.”

            Leo looked back down at the table, his posture relaxing slightly when Raph conceded his point.

            “You’re gonna have ta get pretty damn close ta that thing with the short gun,” Raph said.

            “I know,” Leo acknowledged.

            “She’s probably gonna crawl in your head and make ya’ see something ya’ ain’t gonna want ta shoot,” Raph said.

            “I’ve thought of that,” Leo said as he inserted a metal tip into the tiny hole he’d already drilled into one of the beads.

            “Unless she looks like me,” Raph said softly.  “You’d probably be happy ta put one of those in my butt right about now.”

            Leo slowly lowered his hands, his head down.  He didn’t say anything for a moment, nor did he look at Raph, obviously thinking something through.

            “Did you see me?” Leo asked quietly.

            Raph went completely still as he watched his brother.  He had expected Leo to crow about it, expected him to show some sort of smug satisfaction.  Instead his brother appeared almost – sad.

            “If ya’ gotta be mad at somebody, be mad at me,” Raph said.  “Don’t take it out on Mike and Donny too.  They weren’t trying ta keep secrets from ya’, they were trying ta keep one for me.  They figured I was going ta explain ta ya’ what was bugging me and they didn’t want ta step on my feet.”

            “I don’t want to be mad at anyone,” Leo admitted, “and I don’t want you to go through life thinking that during every one of our interactions I’m looking for a weakness to exploit.”

            “Ya’ tend ta do that, bro’.  Whether ya’ mean ta or not,” Raph said.

            “So do you,” Leo told him, finally looking up.  “What do we do about it?”

            Raph’s jaw worked as he tried to find words that would answer that question.  The signals to his brain seemed to jam up as he stared across the table at Leo until he finally simply reached across and slid the safety glasses from his brother’s face.

            Searching Leo’s eyes, Raph leaned forward and Leo met him halfway.  Their lips touched and held for just a moment, and then on some silent mutual signal, they separated.

            “Don and Mikey are on the verge of writing us both off,” Raph said lightly, striving to hide the desire that was starting to course through his veins.

            “Do you remember back when we all got together?” Leo asked.  “The promises we made to each other?”

            “Yeah,” Raph answered.  “There was a bunch of sappy shit, but the main thing was that we wouldn’t let the sex be what defined us ta each other.”

            “Our brothers seem to be better at understanding exactly what that meant,” Leo said.

            Raph snorted.  “Sex is a symptom, Leo.  We both know that ain’t where our real problem is.”

            Leo grimaced.  “We can’t truly resolve that without sex though, can we?  Unless we can both agree on a solution that puts us in bed together, we’re going to remain at loggerheads.”

            “Don thinks we got too much pride,” Raph said.  “Mikey thinks we’re both trying ta prove a point and that one of us has ta back down.”

            “You think it should be me,” Leo said.

            It was only six words, but they had a deleterious effect on Raph’s mood.  He was the one who had come to Leo to talk, he was the one to admit that Leo had a right to be angry with him, he had conceded his mistake in keeping secrets, and he was the one to ask Leo to forgive their brothers for their involvement.  Raph thought it was time for Leo to make some concessions.

            “Just how hard do I have ta work here, Leo?” Raph asked sharply.  “Seems like you’re always wantin’ me ta apologize for stuff as though I’m the one that’s always wrong.”

            “I’ve never said that,” Leo said hotly.

            “Ya’ don’t have ta say it.  It’s written all over ya’; the way ya’ talk at me instead of ta me, the way ya’ blow off everything I say, how ya’ always figure that I’m too emotional ta be able ta have a decent thought in my head.  Ain’t no way I’m lying on my back for ya’ until ya’ show ya’ got enough respect for me ta let me take ya’ first,” Raph spat out.

            “I do respect you,” Leo told him.

            “Ya’ could’ve fooled me,” Raph snapped, spinning on his heels and storming out of the garage.

            Going back down in the elevator, Raph banged his head against the wall.  He was starting to feel like a hamster on a wheel, going around in circles and getting absolutely nowhere.

            Raph had only taken a few steps into the lair when he saw Don coming out of the infirmary.  From the look on his face Raph could tell something was terribly wrong.

            “What happened?” Raph demanded, striding up to his brother.

            “Remember I told you I was going to try something drastic the next time Casey had an erection?” Don asked.  “I tried to wake him as soon as he became aroused and I managed to get him to open his eyes a little.  I pulled his pants down, placed his hand on his penis and yelled at him to masturbate.  I figured nature would take over whether he was half asleep or not.”

            “Did he do it?” Raph asked.

            “No.”  Don’s fists clenched in frustration.  “He just lay there holding himself and groaning.  I thought maybe if I got him started he’d finish the job, so I put my hand over his and started pumping.  Every time I let go he stopped trying and started thrashing around on the cot.  It was so bad I decided that I needed to help him go all the way, so I tried to force an orgasm out of him.  I wasn’t successful; he can’t get off.  He needs the bitch that poisoned him.”

            Raph knew the situation was bad when he heard Don curse.  Feeling his blood beginning to boil, Raph asked, “Can ya’ do anything for him?”

            “I gave him a dose of morphine,” Don said.  “You know how much I hate to use that stuff, but I had to sedate him heavily enough so that his subconscious is below the level the skinwalker can reach.  I have to keep him there until we kill her Raph; if I don’t he’s going to suffer permanent damage.  If I feed him too much morphine, there’s the very real chance he’ll become addicted to it.”

            “We can’t sit here for another whole night and day waiting for Leo ta come up with some kinda plan,” Raph said furiously.  “We gotta go and find that bitch.  We gotta kill her and we gotta do it now.”

            Belatedly, Don realized he shouldn’t have let Raphael see how upset he was over Casey’s condition.  Raph wasn’t a listener, he was a problem solver, and any time you gave him one he jumped into action without thinking things through. 

            Reaching out, Don set a calming hand on Raph’s forearm.  “Leo has to finish the beads,” Don said, trying to reason with his hot headed brother.  “I need a few more hours to rig up a way to identify when the police are nearby.  We need to stay calm and do this the right way, Raph.”

            “Screw the right way,” Raph snapped, yanking his arm away from Don’s hand.  “By the time ya’ decide what ta do, Casey could be dead.  Ya’ don’t know for sure that those bone beads are the only thing that’ll kill her.  I think a gutful of sai will do the trick just fine.  I’m gonna go and give her some, special delivery.”

            Don made a dive for him, not sure what he would do if he managed to wrap himself around Raph, but his brother was too fast.  A hard fist connected sharply with the side of Don’s head and sent him sprawling, and by the time he jumped up, Raph had disappeared into the tunnels.

            The sound of the elevator doors opening spun Don around.  As Leo stepped into the lair, the horrified look in Don’s brown eyes telegraphed to him exactly what had happened.

TBC…………….


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,778  
> Rated: NC-17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This enticing preview image was created by Gwenlala on DeviantArt.  
> 

            Leo saw Don’s frantic expression first and then he noticed the fresh abrasion on his brother’s olive toned skin.

            “Where is he?” Leo demanded tersely.

            “It’s my fault,” Don said in a rush.  “Casey’s worse and I shouldn’t have told Raph . . . .”

            “Get Master Splinter to watch Casey,” Leo interrupted.  “We have to go after Raph before he gets himself killed.”

            Don moved fast, going to Master Splinter’s room and calling to his father.  Leo bounded up the stairs and rapped sharply on Mikey’s door, yelling, “Mikey, get up!”

            Mikey yanked his door open almost immediately, his nunchucks in one hand and his mask in the other.

            “What’s wrong?” he asked.

            “Raph went after the skinwalker on his own,” Leo said.

            “Shell,” Mikey cursed, leaping after Leo to the floor below.

            Mikey shoved his nunchucks into his belt and tied his mask on as they waited for Don, who was leading Master Splinter to the infirmary, explaining what was happening as they walked.

            “I gave him a shot of morphine twenty minutes ago,” Don said.  “I’m keeping the dosage low, so he’ll need another in four hours.  There’s a filled syringe on the tray next to his cot.  Please give him that injection if we aren’t back by then.”

            Master Splinter nodded and watched as Don joined his brothers.  “Be careful my sons,” he called after them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Raph raced through the tunnels, moving fast because he knew that Leo would try to stop him if he caught up before Raph made it topside.

            He was taking a calculated risk and he knew it.  If Raph had tried to reason with Leo that they had to go after the skinwalker tonight, his brother would have fed him the same line of bullshit negating that plan, despite the downturn in Casey’s condition.

            Raph didn’t really want to hunt for the skinwalker alone, in spite of his actions to the contrary.  The area that she operated within was too vast and the odds of Raph finding her without help were poor.

            Punching Don had served two purposes; it had kept the genius from slowing him down, and it had made it appear that Raph was out of control.  That coupled with his outburst about finding and slaying the skinwalker would guarantee that Leo and his brothers would come after him.

            The advantage of being known as a hot head was that sometimes Raph could manipulate his family into doing what he wanted.  The disadvantage was his estranged relationship with Leo.

            Raph exited the tunnels at a location some distance from the target zone and took to the roof tops immediately.  He moved slower now, all of his senses heightened as he approached the area where Casey had been attacked.

            Within just a few minutes he perceived another presence and immediately merged into the shadows.  Gliding forward on silent feet, he spotted a dark bulk curled at the base of a chimney pipe.

            After watching it carefully and seeing no movement, Raph slid in for a closer look.  When he drew nearer, he saw a police radio lying on the ground close to what he could now see was a body.

            Raph lunged forward quickly, kneeling next to the prone form of a man.  Turning him gently, Raph pressed a finger to his neck, sighing with relief when he detected a pulse.  Checking the man’s throat, Raph did not find the tell-tale markings left by the skinwalker, but he noticed that the man had a small build and was probably in his forties, not the woman’s type.  His coat had fallen open when Raph had moved him, and the man’s badge was visible on his belt.

            There was a spot of blood on Raph’s finger when he pulled his hand away from the policeman’s head, so he carefully perused the man’s skull for injuries.  Matted blood marked the area where the officer had been hit by something; the wound a nasty welt on the side of his head that had fortunately stopped bleeding.

            Raph had no idea how frequently the officers were required to report in, but his gut told him that either he’d just called in with an all clear, or the skinwalker had done it for him by imitating his voice.  A call for assistance would have already been answered and the roof would have been teeming with cops.

            Standing slowly, Raph contemplated the adjoining roof tops.  The skinwalker hadn’t bothered with the policeman other than to incapacitate him, which had probably taken only a few minutes.  She was in a hurry for some reason and hadn’t wanted to draw any more unwanted attention to her hunting grounds.  That was no doubt the reason the officer hadn’t been tossed to the street below.

            The only explanation that Raph could think of for her hasty, yet quiet, disposal of the cop was that she was stalking another target.  He didn’t see her anywhere, but then the sky was dark with heavy clouds, limiting visibility to only a short distance.

            A rumble of far off thunder urged Raph to move; minutes even seconds could mean the difference between life and death for someone.  Yet his running blindly would do her next victim no good if Raph wound up going in the wrong direction.

            Taking a deep breath, Raph calmed his urge to leap into immediate action.  The area where she’d attacked Casey and eventually killed the Purple Dragon was two blocks away to his right.  If she had stayed with her original pattern, the skinwalker would have been hunting for her next victim several blocks to the left of that location.

            If the police were on to her pattern, they should have had a man or two perched on the roof tops there instead of where Raph had found the unconscious officer.  There was a chance that Raph could run across some more cops while pursuing the skinwalker, but Raph had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case.  He would bet that the police had located a man or men who fit the killer’s victimology and that those potential targets lived near the police stakeout.

            Following that train of thought, Raph took a quick peek over the side of the building.  His sharp eyes soon picked out a ‘drunk’ leaning against an alley wall, a ‘couple’ making out in a parked car, and a man who was seated at a bus top ostensibly ‘reading’ a newspaper.

            Leaving the police to their stakeout, Raph leaped across to another roof top and began running towards the buildings to his left.  Somehow he knew that for the skinwalker it wasn’t just about the victim, but also about a certain comfort zone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Leo knew that Raph had a large enough head start that the possibility of his still being in the sewer tunnels was doubtful.  Since it was easier and faster to move through New York via the city’s roofs, the three turtle brothers left the hidden safety of the underground fairly quickly.

            Fortunately they weren’t going to have to search the entire city for their rogue brother.  He was on a mission to kill the skinwalker and his best chance of finding her was to go where she hunted.  With that knowledge, Leo led his team in that same direction.

            A crackling sound from the roof top of one of the buildings along their route pulled Leo up short and he lifted a hand to warn Don and Mikey.  Taking to the shadows, the threesome approached the spot where the noise had emanated from, spotting the police radio and the unconscious officer when a flash of lightning illuminated them.

            Seeing that no one else occupied the roof, the brothers crossed over and knelt next to the man.  As Leo was checking his vitals, the radio came to life again.

            _“Report in, short code,”_ a voice said. _“Acknowledge all clear.”_

            Don reached over and picked up the radio.  Clearing his throat, he pressed the send button and whispered, “10-4.”

            They heard a double click as the sender thumbed the transmitter and then the radio went silent.

            “The police?” Leo asked quietly.

            Don nodded.  “A command unit, no doubt in a van parked on the street near here.  This probably isn’t where we’ll find the skinwalker.”

            “She found him,” Mikey said, pointing to the wound on the man’s head.

            “On her way to somewhere else,” Don insisted.

            “Raph agreed with you,” Leo said, studying a scuffed spot in the grime that had settled on the slate roofing material.  “He was here.”

            “Can you tell where he went?” Mikey asked.

            Leo didn’t answer immediately, instead walking slowly across the roof with his head down as he studied Raph’s trail.  Neither Don nor Mikey moved as they waited for their oldest brother to track their hot headed one, following signs that were completely invisible to the purple and orange banded ninjas.

            Turning back to his brothers, Leo signaled them to follow and then leaped across to another building without hesitation.  Don and Mikey were practically on his heels, knowing without a doubt that Leo had found Raph’s path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Raph squatted atop a water tower, letting his eyes search the surrounding buildings.  He knew he couldn’t remain so high up for long, lightning had begun to trail across the sky and he didn’t want to become turtle flambé.

            The approaching storm shortened his window of opportunity for locating the thing he’d vowed to kill.  Climbing to the top of the tallest structure that was nearest to him was the fastest way to search for her and he figured taking the chance of getting hit by lightning was an acceptable risk.

            He was about to descend and continue on when movement atop the building directly in front of him caught his attention.  Flattening himself as much as possible, Raph stared hard at the spot and saw a man climb up from the fire ladder onto the roof.

            The man was big and strong looking, something Raph could discern by the way his overcoat stretched across his shoulder blades.  Once he was on the roof, the man turned and reached back towards the ladder, lending a hand to the woman who was trailing along behind him.

            Raph’s heart began to beat faster as he studied her.  She was several inches shorter than her companion, with jet black hair that hung sleekly down to her waist.  Wearing a pants suit that molded around her slim figure, she carried what appeared to be an expensive camera attached to a cord that was suspended from her neck.

            The man and woman conferred for a moment, their heads close together, and then made their way towards a small roof top greenhouse.  Once they were near it, the man tried the door but it didn’t open.

            While he attempted to see through the opaque glass, the woman slowly removed the camera and set it aside.  Raph watched as she tipped her head to the side in a coquettish manner, apparently saying something to the man because he turned his head to look at her.

            When she had his attention, the woman slipped her jacket off and tossed it on top of the camera.  The move caused the man to spin towards her and when he did, she stepped in closer to him and slid her hands beneath his overcoat, pushing at it until it fell off his shoulders.

            Thus encouraged, the man shrugged the overcoat completely off, following it with his suit jacket.  As soon as he was unencumbered by those layers of clothing, he pulled the woman into his arms and began ravishing her lips.

            Raph knew without a single doubt that the woman was the skinwalker.  Narrowing his eyes, he tried to see past the glamour she had created for the man’s benefit, but the magic, or the man’s belief in it, was too strong.

            The woman pushed her victim against the greenhouse wall and tore at the buttons on his shirt as they kissed.  Pulling it completely open, she lowered her mouth to his chest, licking and sucking at his skin while working loose the knot in his tie and then tossing it behind her.

            Her victim attempted to move then, shaking his head as though trying to fight his way through a fog.  The skinwalker responded by lifting one of his hands and placing it on her breast and then attaching her mouth to his neck.

            Raph quickly vaulted from atop the tower, dropping into a crouch and cautiously making his way towards them.  If he was careful enough, she wouldn’t see his approach until it was too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “There,” Mikey whispered excitedly, pointing towards a spot on a roof top half a block away.  “He’s over there.”

            “Go silent,” Leo instructed in a sharp undertone, seeing immediately that Raph was stalking something.

            As quiet as they were, Raph’s excellent hearing picked up the sound of his brother’s approach.  He didn’t risk looking back at them, his eyes glued to the woman who at that moment had one hand jammed down inside her victim’s boxers.  His moans were audible as she pulled at his trapped erection, removing her hand a moment later to lift it to her mouth.  Her abnormally long tongue darted out to lap at her fingers and then Raph heard her growl just before she turned a glare full of venom on her victim.

           The light thud of his brothers landing on a nearby roof top reached Raph’s ears and he lunged forward, breaking into a run.  At nearly the same moment, the dark haired woman jerked away from her prey, black eyes flashing as she caught sight of Raph bearing down on her.

            Another audible growl escaped her throat as the skinwalker’s red painted lips curled back from her canines.  Her hands flexed and then the dainty fingers elongated, the nails stretching into something more closely resembling claws.

            For a split second, Raph thought she would face him and his grip tightened on the handles of his sais in anticipation.  But then her eyes flickered over to the other turtles and almost before Raph could register the movement, she squatted and then bounded away from her prey, crossing the roof top in a blur of speed.

            The man she’d trapped groaned and slid down the wall, collapsing in a heap on the slate roof.  Raph barely spared him a glance as he rushed in pursuit of the woman, sighting the long flow of her black hair as it billowed out from her head like a raven’s wings.

            “Raph!” Leo shouted, watching his brother speed away from them.

            As the three brothers drew abreast of the man who had been attacked, he whimpered, calling out, “Anna . . . . “

            Don slammed to a halt, immediately dropping on his knees next to the man.  Mikey raced past them, staying on Leo’s heels until Leo spun towards him, his palm out to stop his youngest brother.

            “No!” Leo exclaimed.  “No, no, no.  Stay . . . stay with Don; don’t leave him alone for even a minute.”

            “It’s Villela,” Don said, looking up at his brothers.

            “But Raph . . . .” Mikey began.

            “I’m going after him,” Leo said hastily.  “Cover that man’s eyes, get him dressed, and take him to the hospital as fast as you can.  You two stay together, don’t separate and don’t lose sight of one another.  That thing may double back, so you two keep your eyes on each other.  I’ll catch Raph.”

            As Leo started off, Don called after him, “When you do, make sure it _is_ Raph!”

            Leo mentally registered Don’s admonition though most of his mind was busy with trying to track his brother.  Raph and the skinwalker had disappeared from view, but Leo could still follow the hot head’s unique scent.  Now if he could just catch up to Raph before the rain started falling again and destroyed even that trail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Raph considered himself to be quick, but the woman he pursued was faster.  Just before he lost sight of her, he saw her go down on all fours and begin to bound from roof to roof in strides that were easily thirty feet in length.

            Having lost track of both time and his location during the chase, Raph paused to get his bearings.  Lightening brightened the sky momentarily, followed quickly by a rumble of thunder, telling Raph that the latest storm was nearly on top of him.

            Just ahead of him was the old watch tower, its doors and windows boarded up.  The entire neighborhood was quiet and the few street lights in the area were out, probably caused by the oncoming storm.

            A light mist started to fall, further dampening Raph’s spirits.  Now was when Raph wished that Leo was with him; his brother was a much better tracker than any of them.

            “Raph!”

            Turning, Raph saw Leo hurrying towards him, an enigmatic expression on his face.  Raph squared his shoulders, bracing himself for the inevitable chiding.

            Instead, Leo asked, “Where is she?”

            “I don’t know,” Raph admitted.  “I kept up with her ta this point and then lost her.  She’s damn fast and running on all fours.”

            Leo frowned, looking skyward.  “We’re going to get caught in this storm.”

            “Where are Don and Mikey?” Raph asked.

            “They stopped to help Villela,” Leo told him.  His eyes turned towards the watch tower and his gaze became speculative.  “You say she vanished around here?  Could she have gone into the tower?”

            Raph shook his head irritably as a cold raindrop splattered against his face.  “That’d be a hell of a jump,” he said.

            Leo moved over to the edge of the roof and looked down.  “The street is deserted; she could easily have crossed over and gone inside.”

            Raph joined his brother in gazing down at the street, immediately sensing that something was off.

            Heavier drops started to fall around them.  “How’d she get inside?” Raph asked.  “I doubt if they leave the front door unlocked.”

            Leo scanned the building opposite them and then he suddenly pointed towards a window on the seventh floor.

            “There, do you see how the plywood is slightly slanted?  It’s probably only hanging by one or two screws.  She could have shoved the wood aside, crawled in, and lifted the piece back into place,” Leo said.

            Lightening flashed around them and the rain turned into a downpour.

            “Let’s go see if you’re right,” Raph said, jamming his sais into his belt and vaulting over the edge of the building.

            Both brothers dropped down into an alleyway and paused there, perusing the street as best they could through the rain.  Then Leo tapped Raph’s shoulder and darted across the asphalt, melting into the shadows of the watch tower.

            When Raph joined him, he saw that his brother was already studying the side of the building.  Without a word, Leo reached up and found a handhold, pulling himself upwards quickly.

            Raph allowed himself a small smile despite the situation, if there was a way to get to something he wanted, Leo would find it.  Maybe that was partly why Raph was upset with him, he’d been expecting Leo to find the perfect resolution to their problem and when he didn’t, Raph figured he wasn’t trying his hardest.

            Shoving those thoughts aside, he followed his brother’s lead, scaling seven floors of the building and moving across until they were just outside the window with the crooked board.  Digging his toes into a small protrusion in the outer bricks, Leo pushed on the plywood, discovered it was indeed loose, and swung it to the side so that he could crawl into the building.

            Leo held the board away from the window so that Raph could come in, and then pushed it back into place. 

            Raph expected the interior to be completely black because of the boarded up windows, but was surprised to find that there was a filtered light coming in from the centered tower.  The window they had entered gave onto a narrow walkway that ran around the entire interior of the building.  An ornate rail separated the walkway from a sheer drop to the ground floor.

            “There are rooms on the first six floors,” Leo whispered somewhat unnecessarily, his head close to Raph’s.  “The building narrows to a tip, the top being where the giant clock is mounted.  That’s probably where the light is coming from.”

            Leo’s breath blew across Raph’s shoulder, making his skin tingle.  Stretching out as far as he could, Raph twisted so he could look up.  There was a wider walkway around the top of the building, with a square opening in it about eight feet wide.  A flash of lightening shone through the frosted glass of the clock.

            Leaning against the railing, Raph turned to look down, trying to see the doors that led into the lower floor rooms.  He felt Leo’s hands quickly circle his waist and grunted in surprise.

            “That rail is old and you’re going to fall,” Leo explained in a low voice.

            As if to corroborate Leo’s assessment, the railing creaked under Raph’s weight and he hastily stepped back.  His sudden movement caused him to collide with Leo and for a moment he was locked in his oldest brother’s embrace.

            Raph swallowed thickly as he strove to remember where they were.  Extricating himself from Leo’s grip, he turned to look at his brother.  Leo’s expression was soft, his eyes bright as another flash of lightening made them shine.

            “If she’s here, where do ya’ think she’s hiding?” Raph asked.

            For a moment, Leo seemed to be contemplating the question.  His tongue flicked out, swiped across the corner of his mouth, and disappeared again as he looked upwards.  Raph watched him, the sight of Leo’s wide tongue making his stomach muscles tighten.

            “I think she’d go up,” Leo said.

            “’Cause of that whole ‘line of sight’ thing Mikey came up with?” Raph asked.

            Leo’s head jerked back down and he looked at Raph sharply.  “Y~yes,” he answered somewhat hesitantly.  “It’s also less likely anyone could sneak up on her if she has an unobstructed view into the whole building.”

            “That means she might already know we’re here,” Raph whispered harshly.

            “If we go down to search the rooms and she’s up there,” Leo said, indicating the tower with a twist of his head, “then she’ll get away.  If we search the tower first and she isn’t there, the chances are good that she won’t know we’re here because she’s locked inside one of the rooms.  We have to do this quietly.”

            “Okay, I’ll bow ta that reasoning,” Raph said.  “We got another fifteen floors ta the top; how sturdy do ya’ think the stairs are?”

            Leo looked over at the metal stairwell and smiled grimly.  “Stay on the inside, nearest the wall.  Keep your weight on your toes and your fingers crossed,” he said with determination.

            Without waiting for Raph’s reply, Leo darted towards the stairs and began to ascend silently.  Raph followed, making note of the places where Leo put his feet so that he could follow in his brother’s steps.

            As they passed each floor, the pair did a quick survey to ensure the skinwalker wasn’t waiting to pounce on them.  Each time that they didn’t see her, Leo would look down at his brother and offer a smile of encouragement.

            Leo’s smiles were so rare these days that Raph couldn’t help but revel in them.  There was something both joyous and exciting about hunting with his oldest brother; a kind of connection to Leo’s purposefulness that caused Raph’s adrenaline to flow.

            Staring at Leo’s strong legs and the hint of his taut rump showing beneath Leo’s shell caused a familiar ache to course through Raph’s body.  The thoughts in his head were clearly inappropriate under the circumstances, but Raph knew he was having them because his brother seemed so much more approachable tonight than he had been of late.

            Maybe the thrill of the hunt was having an effect on Leo too.  When they finished off the skinwalker, Raph was determined that he’d take advantage of Leo’s openness and solve the problem between them tonight.

            Leo slowed and then stopped when they were nearly at the topmost set of stairs.  Turning, he leaned in close to Raph, placing a hand on his shoulder as his face drew within an inch of Raph’s.

            “Let’s not get our heads cut off,” Leo whispered against Raph’s mouth.  “Move fast through the opening so she doesn’t have a target.”

            Raph tipped his head up in acknowledgement and his lips lightly brushed Leo’s.  The corners of Leo’s mouth lifted at the touch and then he unsheathed his swords.  Even before they slid completely free, Raph’s sais were in his hands.

            With a last long look at Raph, Leo spun around and leaped through the opening.  Raph was practically on his shell as he bounded into the tower, moving in an opposite direction from Leo’s.

            Hands out to the side and knees bent, Raph surveyed the clock room.  The floor wasn’t nearly as dusty as he’d expected and the wall opposite the giant clock face was bare.  The clock itself was more than twice as tall as Raph and its hands were just visible through the frosted, reinforced glass that made up its face.

            He saw that Leo was looking around the room as well, noting that no one else was there.  In fact, the only other thing in the room was in the most shadowed corner of the space.

            Approaching it cautiously, Raph was amazed to see what looked exactly like a giant nest.  Along with the long pieces of straw that were woven together to form a solid base, the interior was lined with fresh linens, piled together to form a soft resting place.

            Raph felt Leo slide up next to him.  “Looks like she’s been robbing clothes lines,” Raph said.  “I guess we found her bedroom.”

            “She won’t leave this,” Leo told him.  “She’ll be back.  We should wait for her.”

            His brow furrowed, Raph turned to his brother.  “If we wait, she’s gonna find herself another victim.  We should at least search the lower floors ta see if she’s hiding in one of those rooms.”

            Leo had sheathed his weapons and now he placed a palm gently on Raph’s chest, just above his heart.  “Do you want to waste this moment, Raph?  I know you can feel the same thing I’m feeling.  This is our time to be together, without Mikey or Don nearby to add pressure and stress to our relationship.”

            Raph swallowed; his tongue heavy in his mouth.  His heart had begun to beat faster and he knew from the pleased look on Leo’s face that his brother felt it as well.

            As much as he wanted to see how far Leo would go, Raph’s thoughts turned to the reason for their being inside the watch tower in the first place.  That helped him to remember that while they dallied, Casey was suffering.

            Taking a step back, Raph shoved his sais into his belt and said, “Ya’ got lousy timing bro’.  I’d be happy ta jump ya’ right here, but there’s too many good reasons for us ta find that bitch and kill her tonight.”

            He tried to walk around Leo, but his brother stepped into his path.  “Those reasons can wait a half an hour, can’t they?  I need you, Raph.  I’ll give you what you’ve wanted the most, right now.  Tell me you haven’t been thinking about it.”

            Raph’s hidden manhood stirred at those words, the mental image of Leo giving in to him in this secluded tower almost overwhelming.  It took him nearly a minute to realize he’d stopped breathing and then he sucked in a lungful of common sense with his oxygen.

            Leo had moved closer while Raph was trying to steady himself.  Seeing how near Leo had gotten, Raph shuffled to the side, wanting to keep enough distance between them so his needs wouldn’t skyrocket from his brother’s scent.

            Once more Leo paced him, not allowing Raph to pass.  His amber eyes shone avidly, the desire in his demeanor obvious.

            “A few minutes of ecstasy, Raph,” Leo purred.  “We are owed that.”

            It was then that Raph realized his brother wasn’t giving off a scent.  Leo’s musk should have been strong inside the small room, considering the level of arousal his brother displayed.

            A chill shot up Raph’s spine as he met the glowing eyes across from him.  This wasn’t Leo.

TBC………………..


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,312  
> Rated: NC-17

            It took a minute for it to fully sink in to Raph that he was trapped in a room with the skinwalker.  His eyes swept over the form in front of him, astonished at how perfect the illusion she’d achieved really was.  Every nick, every scar, every little thing Raph had memorized about his brother was there.  Even the katanas on her back, which Raph knew couldn’t be real, looked and sounded authentic.

            The thought of those katanas snapped him out of his astonished perusal and he reached for his sais, drawing them slowly from his belt.  He never took his eyes off of her, somehow expecting that once he showed her he was no longer fooled, she’d drop the charade and become herself.

            Instead, her head tipped to the side and a small smile played across her lips.

            “We’re all alone here, Raph,” witch-Leo said in a voice smooth as silk.  “You don’t need your weapons.  I felt the beating of your heart; I know how I affect you.  I want you so badly; right here, right now.  We’ll hunt together afterwards.  It’s too hard to concentrate when my body is crying out for yours.”

            “Cut the crap,” Raph snarled.  “Ya’ ain’t my brother.”

            “I am because you want me to be,” witch-Leo responded.  “Whatever you’ve needed from him I can give you.  It will be exactly the same.”

            “No it won’t,” Raph said, springing directly at her.

            His weapons pierced thin air as the skinwalker flipped back away from him, almost exactly the way Leo would have.

            “It doesn’t have to be like this, Raph.  Give me what I need and I’ll fulfill your wildest fantasies,” witch-Leo cajoled.

            “Oh yeah?  Well my biggest one right now is that ya’ lay down and die,” Raph snapped, charging towards her once more.

            Her leap to avoid him took her clear across the room.  Raph came skidding to a stop just before he plunged through the opening in the floor, growling in frustration.

            A trill of laughter escaped her as she watched Raph spin in her direction.  Turning her back, she bent slightly and lifted her tail.

            “Isn’t this what you really want?” witch-Leo teased.  “This is what gets you off at night, the thought of this tight, green ass wrapped around your cock.  You want to look down at your brother and see the desire on his face, the desire you put there as you fuck him the way no one else can.”

            Raph stalked closer, wanting to get near enough for one good strike.  He tried to force his eyes to remain focused on her face but her words, spoken in Leo’s voice, cut into him.  When he glanced down, she wriggled her tail invitingly.

            His breath caught in his throat and for just a second, Raph’s balance was thrown off by a dizzying rush of desire.  Then he remembered his fight with Leo and knew his brother wouldn’t offer him anything so easily.  Raph’s head cleared and his anger surged, giving him something solid to cling to.

            “I’m gonna enjoy ripping ya’ ta shreds,” Raph said in a raspy voice, darting at her with all the speed he could muster.

            Spinning to face him, witch-Leo made no attempt to dodge as Raph’s sais swept at her from two different directions.  Just before he could drive them into her body, she caught his wrists in her hands.

            Raph’s arms vibrated from the sudden stop.  Her grip was painfully tight, her hands unyielding as he pulled against her hold.  The expression on her imitation Leo face was mocking and Raph belatedly remembered Don’s warning that skinwalkers were very powerful.

            She was strong, but she wasn’t a ninja.  Raph took a quick step back and spread his arms, forcing her to lean towards him.  As she came forward, he lifted a foot and first kicked her knee, and then planted his foot squarely in her stomach.

            The double strike caught the skinwalker off guard and she stumbled backwards, releasing her hold on Raph.  With her off-balance, Raph pressed his advantage and dove at her.

            The skinwalker lifted an arm and managed to deflect the first sai aimed at her, but she couldn’t bring the other hand up in time.  Raph plunged his second sai directly into her chest, driving it in all the way up to the hilt.

            Before he could bring his other weapon around again, she slapped both of her palms against Raph’s plastron, shoving him hard enough to send him flying.  His carapace hit the floor and he went skidding, smacking his head against the wall with a resounding thud.

            Raph sat forward quickly, dazed by the blow but on guard with his remaining sai in front of him.  The skinwalker didn’t come after him though; still wearing her Leo illusion, she stared at him as she slowly pulled the sai from her body.

            Blinking in astonishment, Raph watched her toss the weapon aside, a smile lighting her face as the wound closed, not even leaving the faintest trace of blood behind.

            “I don’t want to fight with you Raph,” the skinwalker said in the low husky tone that Raph knew from his most intimate moments with Leo.  “I want to make love with you.”

            The back of his head throbbed painfully, causing Raph’s vision to double slightly.  He needed time for it to clear and the only way he could think of to gain that time was to get her to talk.

            “Why?” he asked.  “Why are ya’ attacking and killing men?  Why would ya’ pretend ta love somebody and then throw them off a roof?”

            The skinwalker laughed, her voice imitating Leo’s perfectly.  “This isn’t about some emotional attachment, it’s about sex.”

            She walked slowly towards him, her manner nearly stalking.  Raph scooted backwards until his shell hit the wall and then used it as a brace in order to stand up.

            “Ya’ ain’t been having sex with them,” Raph said.  “Ya’ get ‘em excited and then ya’ kill them.”

            “Because they weren’t worthy specimens,” witch-Leo said, her eyes focused avidly on Raph’s face.  “It’s so hard to find a strong, healthy male these days, much harder than it was a hundred years ago.  My time has come around again and I need a virile man.”

            “Time?” Raph asked, calculating the distance between them as his head started to clear.

            “To breed,” she answered, stopping to study him.  “I can produce up to a dozen children while in season, but I must have male seed.  The larger and healthier the man is, the more viable his seed, not to mention his greater stamina.  Your friend Casey was a perfect specimen; when I tasted his secretions I found that he was free of drugs or physical flaws.”

            Raph’s mind flashed back to the man he’d just saved and how the skinwalker had licked his pre-come from her fingers.

            “Ya’ get them wound up just ta taste them?” he asked.

            “I cannot mate with a flawed specimen,” witch-Leo said.

            Raph pushed off from the wall, moving to the side towards the opening in the floor, hoping to draw her into position so he’d have a chance to shove her through it.  She moved when he did, turning to keep her eyes on him, the hungry look in them growing stronger.

            “During my last season I produced seven children,” she continued.  “The man was healthy and strong, but his seed was incompatible.  My children did not live long.  There are fewer of our kind now and to continue this bloodline I must be fertilized by the strongest donor possible.  I thought I found that match in Casey, but you Raph, you are much better.”

            Sliding his foot along the ground, Raph tried to judge his location without looking away from the skinwalker.  Tightening his grip on his remaining sai, Raph got ready to make his move.

            Before he had the chance, she jumped through the air directly at him.  Raph lifted his sai as she came down, shoving it through her hand as she reached for him.

            The skinwalker twisted her arm to the side, gripping the shaft and wrenching it from Raph’s hand.  Her body slammed into him, her weight driving Raph to the floor.

            Raph threw a swing at her which she caught, shoving his arm down next to his head.  As he pushed at her with his free hand, she shook the sai loose from her palm and quickly grabbed his other arm, pinning him beneath her.

            She weighed more than Leo; in fact the skinwalker was deceptively heavy.  Straddling his waist, she dug her knees into Raph’s sides when he tried to buck her off, planting her legs firmly on the ground to either side of him so he couldn’t roll away.

            Raph struggled beneath his captor as she stared down at him, her eyes bright and hungry.  After a couple of minutes, she lowered her head, tilting it as her mouth moved towards Raph’s neck.

            Eyes wide with panic, Raph twisted his shoulders, throwing his head from side to side to ward off her obvious intentions.  When she was close enough he even tried head butting her, but she anticipated that action and pulled her head aside.  As soon as his head when back, her mouth came down and clamped onto his neck.

            “No!” Raph shouted, feeling a hot tingling sensation at the point of contact.  His muscles strained against her hold, but she merely moaned at his attempt, the sound vibrating his skin.

            A wave of dizziness swept through his mind and Raph knew she was drugging him.  Little by little his muscles relaxed despite his efforts to fight the reaction.  Raph knew that he had to hold onto his knowledge that the creature on top of him was not Leo and that no matter what she did he could not succumb to his deepest carnal desires.

            Her mouth separated from his neck with a soft pop and she leaned back, looking down into his eyes with a small, satisfied smile painting her lips.  Raph’s head swam as he stared into Leo’s face, the skin along his cheeks flushed with need.  Not Leo, he reminded himself.

            “Ya’ ain’t Leo,” Raph croaked, his voice stubborn and belligerent.

            The smile faded and for a brief second, so did her mask.  Raph had a quick peek at brown fur dotted with gray flecks and a pair of black eyes before she pulled the illusion back into place.

            “You are so strong,” witch-Leo said, her voice a deep and sultry imitation of his brother’s.  “You want to use that power to control me, to make me respect you.  I’ll let you prove that to me Raph, I’ll let you take me just as you’ve always wanted.”

            She leaned into Raph again, suckling the skin on the other side of his neck.  He gasped at the strong lustful surge that threatened to arouse him, barely noticing when her hands slid off of his arms and began petting his exposed sides.

            “Mate with me,” witch-Leo purred as she lifted her mouth from his neck and slid down his body.

            Forcing his legs apart, she crawled between them and began to explore Raph’s most private areas.  Her hands had a delicate touch, her fingers sure as they wrapped around his tail and caressed the sensitive appendage.  Grimacing against the unwanted pleasure, Raph stared up at the ceiling, counting the blemishes in the wooden timbers in order to distract himself from her actions.

            A finger circled the muscled entrance to his anus and Raph gasped as the skin pulsed in response to her touch.  His fingers dug into the floor as did his heels, and he pushed his body several inches along the floor to escape her.

            Her chuckle was light as she crawled upwards, following him.  Lifting his head, Raph could see that her gaze was glued between his legs.  Despite the sound of humor in her voice, Raph could tell that she was puzzled and instantly knew that even though she wore Leo’s image, she had no idea how their bodies worked.

            She began to rub her hands over his plastron, obviously searching for his cock.  Raph knew he had to remain flaccid; if she once noticed the telltale bulge beneath his scutes she would concentrate her attention there and he wasn’t sure that he could hold back from her.

            “So incredibly stubborn,” she whispered in her false Leo voice, clambering over Raph and peering down into his face.  “You will make an excellent father,” she told him before once more placing her mouth on his neck.

            Raph focused on regaining control of his limbs, forcing his mind away from the feelings in the rest of his body.  It would serve him right, he thought, for the real Leo to appear and come to his rescue.  His brother would never stop lording it over him if Raph allowed that to happen.  A spark of anger burnt like a white hot coal inside his head and he suddenly found the power to yank his neck away from the skinwalker.

            Undaunted, she rocked on top of him, rubbing against his plastron as her hands explored his lower regions.  Raph ground his teeth together, striving to hold himself back, determined not to give her what she wanted.

            “Show me where it is,” witch-Leo said in a voice that was low and tantalizing.

            “I ain’t got one,” Raph snarled.  “I’m dickless.  Jokes on ya’.”

            For a second she froze, her Leo face twisting in anger, and then it smoothed out as she broke into a smile.

            “No you aren’t,” she purred.  “Your desire to take your brother wouldn’t be this strong if you didn’t have the tools for the job.”

            “What the hell do ya’ know about it?” Raph growled at her.  “Ya’ read me wrong bitch.  I think about my brother ‘cause he pisses me off, not ‘cause I got the hots for him.  He’s a major pain in my ass who’s always ordering me around ‘cause he thinks he’s better than me.”

            The skinwalker’s movements slowed as Raph talked, her questing hands coming to a standstill.  Raph suddenly saw the same confused look on her face that she’d exhibited two nights earlier, when she’d worn her Leo guise and then run away from him.

           She’d appeared as Leo then to seduce him, seeing in Raph’s mind the same images he’d conjured up of his oldest brother, the images that had excited him.  But only moments later Raph had been angry again, thinking that Leo was trying to play babysitter once more.  Actually, Raph had been more than angry, he’d been furious.

            Thinking about how mad he’d gotten made Raph angry now as well.  That’s when he saw Leo’s face waver and seem to slip again.

            “No,” witch-Leo hissed, leaning down to suckle Raph’s neck.  “What are you doing?”

            “Mad,” Raph husked.  “Getting mad.  Mad at ya’, mad at my bro’.  Ya’ can’t handle that shit, can ya’?  Ya’ can’t witch somebody that’s furious.”

            The growl next to his ear told Raph he was on the right track.  He had to hang onto that knowledge to remain lucid enough to make an escape attempt.  Raph had to make her stop pumping that toxin into his blood stream or before long he’d be catatonic.

            “Don’t matter what ya’ do, I’m too mad ta even admit I got a dick, much less let ya’ get anywhere near it,” Raph said.

            “Give it to me!” she screeched into his face, the Leo mask blurring further.  “If you want to live, you’ll . . . .”

            “Raph!”  The sound of  Leo’s strident leader’s voice echoed through the building.  “Raph!”

            The skinwalker’s head jerked away from Raph, turning towards the sound of the intruder’s voice. 

            “Leo!  Watch your back, she’s here!” Raph shouted with as much force as he could muster in order to warn his brother.

            She looked back down at him, her Leo face solidifying once more as Raph’s concern overcame his anger.  Smiling knowingly, she sat up, her eyes still locked with his.

            “Leo,” the skinwalker purred.  “Le~o.  Does he long for Raph as much as Raph longs for him?”

            “Stay away from him,” Raph croaked, suddenly fearful.

            With one smooth swift move she gained her feet and slid towards the staircase.  At the top she looked back at Raph, who struggled to get up.

            “If I can’t have you, I’ll take him,” she said mockingly as her eyes glimmered.  “I’ll bet he’d love to see you obey his every command.  I can give him that willingly.  He’ll be so excited.”

            “No!” Raph yelled as she slipped from view.  “No!”

            Leo’s head jerked up at the sound of Raph’s voice.  Swiftly sliding his swords from their sheaths, he started towards the stairs.

            Halfway there Leo heard the metal staircase rattle and he came to a quick stop.  As he watched, a pair of emerald green legs appeared, moving slowly downwards.  Holding his position, Leo saw Raph come completely into view, a pained expression on the younger turtle’s face.

            Raph looked over at Leo and his brow cleared slightly.  Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled towards Leo, one hand gripping his side as though he’d been hurt.

            Leo took a step in his direction and then stopped, remembering Don’s admonition.  Wary, he said, “Stay where you are.”

            “It’s me, Leo,” Raph said, sucking in a shaking breath.  “I got her; maybe even killed her, but I think she broke my ribs.  Ya’ gotta help me.”

            Uncertain, Leo sheathed one sword but retained his hold on the other.  “Maybe you should sit down and let me check on her.  We need to be certain she’s dead.”

            In the tower, the real Raph could hear the echo of a pair of voices.  He couldn’t make out the words, but he knew the skinwalker had found Leo.  Overwhelmed with the fear that she would trick his brother, Raph rolled onto his side and stared at the top of the stairs.

            His arms and legs felt as if they were made of lead, and the staircase looked damned far off.  If Raph didn’t find a way to move, there was a good chance Leo would wind up being the witches’ next victim.

            Somehow Casey had not only succeeded in walking after being attacked, but had even found the strength to climb down a fire escape.  Raph remembered his friend’s anxiety in thinking that something was wrong with April had been driving him.

            Raph had managed to deny the skinwalker’s advances because of his anger, and his worry for Leo had made it possible for him to roll off his back.  Strong negative emotions seemed to counteract the effects of the toxin and if anyone was good at accessing those types of feelings, it was the turtle fondly known as the ‘hot head’ by his family.

            If she thought she was going to use his likeness to have sex with Leo, that bitch had another think coming.  A snarl curled his lip and Raph pulled his legs up under him, his entire being directed towards catching and killing the thing that had attacked him.

            Sweeping his sai off of the floor, he stuck it into his belt and stood up.  Allowing himself a second to regain his balance, Raph walked haltingly to the stairs, reaching for the railing as he started down.

            The voices became clear after he’d gone down two floors and Raph realized his brother was just a floor under him.  With a renewed purpose, he pushed himself harder, clutching at the rail as he practically slid down the stairs.

            “Don’t go up there alone, Leo,” witch-Raph said.  “Ya’ don’t know what she’s capable of while she’s dying.  Give me a hand and we’ll go up together.”

            She reached towards Leo but he didn’t move.  “How do I know you’re really Raph?”

            Witch-Raph coughed, grimacing in pretended pain.  “Can ya’ . . . can ya’ at least help me sit down?”

            Leo contemplated Raph, concern starting to overcome his caution.  Raph rarely asked for help, but when he did it meant that he was badly hurt.

            He was just about to go to his brother when a familiar voice stopped Leo in his tracks.

            “Don’t go near it bro’.  That ain’t me.”

            Looking quickly towards the stairs, Leo saw another Raph tottering there, both hands grasping the rail in a tight grip.  It was easy to see his brother was having a difficult time staying upright, but the strong determination that Leo was used to seeing on Raph’s face was definitely there.

            “That’s the skinwalker,” witch-Raph said hurriedly.  “I told you I got her.  She’s hurt and she’s trying ta trick ya.”

            Leo looked from one to the other, trying to discern which one was his real brother.  To Raph, it appeared as though two Leo’s were standing on the walkway, the fake one bent over as though in pain.

            “Raph,” Leo said, his eyes on the one nearest him.  “I can’t tell you apart.”  He glanced up at the stairs, his confusion obvious.

            “I’m busted up inside,” the skinwalker said.  “I can’t st . . . stand here.  Put me against the wall until ya’ figure it out.”

            “How bad, how bad is it?” Leo asked, his gaze locked on the skinwalker. 

            Raph could see that she was playing on Leo’s concern for his family and that it was getting to him.  He had to think of a way to convince his brother that he was the real Raph.  Down here in the open, Leo wouldn’t notice her lack of scent unless he move closer to her, and Raph didn’t want him to do that.

            “Look at my neck bro’,” Raph called out.  “She bit me.  If her toxin wasn’t running through me do ya’ think I’d just be standing here?”

            When Leo looked at him again, the skinwalker’s head turned in his direction as well.  A slight smile twitched the corners of her lips and then Raph saw the skin on her neck appear to ripple and change.

            “I’m the one who was bitten,” the skinwalker said.  “Her mark is on my neck; she’s making you see what she wants you to see.”

            Leo’s eyes flicked back to her and Raph felt a terrible dread start to rise.  He wanted to tell Leo to leave, to get out, but he knew his brother wouldn’t.  Even if he somehow convinced Leo to go for Don and Mike, the skinwalker would be on Leo as soon as he turned his back.

            How she read her victims was uncanny; the way she reached into their minds to see not only their physical desires, but also the things they wanted to hear.  It was like a damn sirens song and if Raph let her keep singing it for Leo, his brother was going to get caught.

            But she wasn’t perfect, she couldn’t see everything.  Raph’s head jerked up as he thought of something she couldn’t know.

            “Leo, listen ta me,” Raph said, gaining his brother’s attention.  “She doesn’t know our names, not our real names.  Ya’ remember where sensei got them from?  She won’t know that ‘cause she ain’t got a way ta research us.  Ask her where my full name came from.”

            As he talked, Raph saw the dawning realization in his brother’s expression.  Leo turned his eyes on the skinwalker, the concern that had been on his face just a moment before changing to one of determination.

            “If you’re the real Raph, then you’ll know the answer to that question,” Leo said.  “I think he’s right, the skinwalker can’t know much about us.  Don’t worry about giving away secrets, I can think of a dozen questions to ask that no one but family would know the answers to.”

            The skinwalker stared at him, her body completely still.  Her mouth opened and then closed again as it became obvious that she couldn’t provide the answer.

            Leo’s hand swept up to retrieve his second sword and she simultaneously lunged at him.  He swung at her with the katana he was holding, but she had moved in too fast and his arm rather than his blade hit her shoulder.

            The power of her attack knocked Leo backwards against the rail and with a sickening screech it gave way beneath his weight.  With a loud cry he plummeted over the edge.

            “No!  Leo!” Raph yelled.

            Panic stricken, he pushed off from the stairs, his unresponsive legs tangling near the bottom.  Falling forward, Raph scrabbled towards the edge of the walkway.

            A few feet away, the skinwalker bounded through the opening in the rail, following Leo down.  Raph reached the edge and grasped an unbroken section of rail, pulling himself up enough so that he could look over to the floor far below.

            He expected to see Leo’s broken form lying on the marble flooring of the main lobby, but no one was there.  The sound of metal clanging against metal pulled his attention higher and he spotted another section of busted railing three floors below the one he was on.

            On the walkway next to it lay Leo.  His brother was perfectly still and through the dim light, Raph couldn’t tell if he was merely unconscious, badly hurt, or dead.

           The skinwalker came into view then as she walked up to Leo and knelt beside him.  The surreal scene of two identical Leo’s swam before Raph’s slowly clouding vision.

            Lifting Leo’s head, the skinwalker eased it onto her bent knee and then looked up at Raph, a satisfied and triumphant smile painting her face.

            “Now I have both of you,” she told him, her black eyes flashing in the darkness.  They were the last things Raph saw before he passed out.

TBC…………….


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,611  
> Rated: NC-17

            A familiar voice kept calling his name and Raph groaned, fighting to regain consciousness.  His arms and legs felt heavy and he stopped trying to move them in favor of simply prying his eyelids open.

            Hovering above him was Leo, an expression of deep concern and an underlying hint of some additional emotion on his face.

            “Raph, _Raph_ , are you all right?” Leo called anxiously, stroking his brother’s cheek.

            The action was soothing and Raph turned his face into the comfort of Leo’s hand.  Then more of the fog lifted from his drugged mind and he jerked away from the touch.

            “Raph?” Leo asked, looking puzzled.

            “What’s my whole name?” Raph croaked.

            The face above him immediately twisted, false green lips pulling back in a sneer.  Witch-Leo sat back, staring down at Raph as she caressed his plastron.

            “It was worth a try,” she told him, her facial muscles relaxing.

            “Where’s Leo?” Raph demanded.

            “Fortunately he survived the fall,” witch-Leo said complacently.  “I think he’s coming around now.  I’m sure he’ll be easier to play with than you’ve been.”

            “Don’t touch him,” Raph snarled as his hands curled into fists.

            The skinwalker looked at them, her brow furrowing.  Obviously she did not expect him to have any control over his muscles.

            “I won’t need to have sex with him if you’ll agree to fuck me,” she said matter-of-factly.  “Maybe we can make a deal.  I’ll even keep this image the entire time, since Leo is the one you most want to screw.”

            “Neither of us is gonna give in ta your sick desires,” Raph told her sharply.

            “Not desires, needs,” the skinwalker said, correcting him.  “My choices are limited and my patience is running thin.  The seed from some of the untainted humans I’ve approached over the years has been compatible but it is not optimum.  I’m positive that you and your brother are a near perfect match.  I’ll take whichever of you I can get, although it would be nice to fuck both of you.  If I can only have one, I’d prefer you.  I like your spirit.”

            A groan from his brother cut off Raph’s retort.  Both he and the skinwalker turned towards the sound.

            Leo lay to Raph’s left, on the other side of the opening in the floor.  His arms had obviously been placed in a position far out to his sides and his legs were spread.  On the floor not far from his head was one of his katanas.

            The skinwalker looked back at Raph, her smile playful.  When she crawled over his leg to kneel between his thighs, Raph realized that she had positioned him exactly as she’d done with Leo.

            “Spare your brother the indignity of fucking the wrong Raph,” the skinwalker said, leaning down to kiss his plastron.  “Give me what I want.”

            Her hands slid over his muscular thighs and then crawled inwards.  One of them curled over Raph’s sensitive tail while the other caressed the area between his legs, the fingers dipping occasionally to tickle his bung hole.

            “I’ll bet you secretly want Leo to take you, don’t you Raph?” witch-Leo asked.  “Fuck me and I’ll return the favor.  I’ll make it good for you.”

            Gritting his teeth, Raph ground out the word, “No.”

            Her ministrations halted as she glanced up at him.  “I could simply shove you through the hole in the floor and pretend I’m you to Leo.”

            “He ain’t as gullible as I was,” Raph said.  “He didn’t let ya’ near him downstairs and ya’ ain’t gonna get anywhere with him here if he don’t know where I am.”

            “Very protective of your brother, aren’t you?” she teased.  “Or do you just want him all to yourself?  I didn’t misread you, the desire is clear to anyone who sees your face when you’re looking at him.  I’ll bet he sees it and wonders why you don’t let him make love to you.”

            Her verbal jab was a little too close to home and Raph closed his eyes, swallowing his rejoinder.  The situation between him and Leo was difficult enough without some inhuman bitch making it worse.

            “Mind your own damn business,” he finally said, “and get the fuck off of me.  Just ‘cause ya’ got Leo’s face don’t mean I’m gonna see ya’ as anything other than the nasty, hairy ass bitch that ya’ really are.”

            Despite his attempts to put her off, the skinwalker seemed even more determined to seduce Raph.  She slowly lowered her head until it was between his legs and then Raph felt her mouth touch his inner thigh.

            A thousand tiny shock waves coursed through his groin as the skinwalker suckled his skin in the area where thigh met plastron.  Raph knew she was injecting her toxin into his bloodstream again and he desperately tried to hold onto the knowledge that she was poisoning him.

            Lifting his head to shout obscenities at her, Raph’s eyes fell on the fake image of Leo between his legs and his clouded mind was instantly flooded with erotic memories. 

            So many times his oldest brother had circumvented Raph’s true desire to fuck him by going down on Raph’s cock.  So many times Raph had eaten his anger because that warm mouth on his swollen flesh felt so damn good; much better than having Leo walk out in a huff leaving Raph needy.

            Every single one of those times Raph had blown his wad in Leo’s mouth and not more than a second later wished that his brother had just lain back and let Raph top him.  Raph knew his brother thought he was a ‘taker’ but that wasn’t true; Raph wanted Leo to let him control their coupling so he could show his brother that he was capable of giving pleasure too.

            Those thoughts and mental images brought out a churr from Raph and he felt his cock begin to harden.  The heated tongue on his skin lifted and an answering churr followed Raph’s, one that sounded almost like Leo’s.

            Almost, but not quite Leo’s.  The skinwalker was an excellent mimic, but Raph was too used to disappointments and the expectation of another made his blood start to boil again.

            Jerking his mind away from pleasurable images and back to the present, Raph berated himself for allowing her to see the bulge beneath his plastron.  Because with his eyes open again, it was very clear that’s where the skinwalker was looking.

            “Not dickless, just hidden,” the skinwalker gurgled happily.  “I knew I could find you.  Come out and play with me.”

            Her fingers brushed across the gentle rise in his plastron, sending a jolt into Raph’s pelvis.  Very quickly Raph pulled up memories from his past that weren’t so alluring; Leo half dead from Shredder’s ambush, Don’s horrible transformation into a mindless beast, Mikey being beaten by Kluh while his family watched helplessly, and that horrible time when Master Splinter went missing and they couldn’t find him anywhere.

            All of those things had happened because an enemy had attacked them, an enemy just like this skinwalker.

            The sound that escaped Raph’s throat this time was nothing like his aroused churr.  It was harsh, nasty, and dangerous.  His anger caught fire as he thought of all of the times that outsiders had tried to take family and friends from him.

            As the skinwalker attempted to coax his penis from its hidden pocket, Raph lifted one of his legs, relentlessly battling its leaden feeling.  Firmly planting his foot against her side, Raph shoved her away from him.

            The move took her completely by surprise.  There was enormous power behind his leg muscles and the skinwalker was thrown completely away from Raph, landing on her back and skidding towards the exposed opening in the floor.

            Raph’s eyes widened as he watched her flail around and then her legs slid over the edge.  Panicked, she flipped over and clawed at the floor, her fingers elongating into thick heavy nails which bit into the wooden planks.

            Once more her illusion slipped and Raph got another glimpse of the skinwalker’s true form.  Her body was bulky and fur covered, and through the layer of fur over her face Raph could see her black eyes snapping furiously at him.

            Then green skin replaced fur again and she resumed her Leo glamour.  Twisting her body, she swung her legs back into the room and pulled herself up, rising to her full height to stare down at Raph.

            “After I mate with Leo, I’m going to kill you,” the skinwalker said slowly and distinctly.

            “Looks like I ain’t gonna be dying anytime soon,” Raph snapped back.

            She took a menacing step towards him and then they both heard Leo hoarsely call out, “Raph!”

            A calculating look crept into the skinwalker’s eyes and the hint of a smug smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.  Without another word, she side stepped the space in the floor, walked over to her other captive, and knelt next to Leo.

            “I’m here Leo,” the skinwalker told him.  “Don’t try ta move.  I think that bitch did something ta ya’.”

            Leo coughed to clear his throat and then croaked, “Poisoned?”

            “Yeah,” she told him.  “Ya’ got a mark on your neck.  She hauled us back up here, but I stuck her good when she was bending over me.”

            “Where . . . where is the body?” Leo asked, trying to lift his head.  “Shouldn’t I be able to move if she’s dead?”

            Raph could hear the low murmur of their voices, just picking out words here and there.  He knew from personal experience how difficult it was to think clearly enough to speak with the skinwalker’s toxin coursing through your veins and realized that Leo was doing what he did best; focusing.

            Well if big bro’ could do it, then Raph sure as shell could too, especially if it meant talking the bitch off of Leo.  Talking wasn’t Raph’s favorite method of fighting, but being a ninja meant using whatever weapon was at hand.

            Taking a couple of deep breaths, Raph expanded his diaphragm in order to lend volume to his voice, and then shouted, “Get the fuck away from my brother ya’ bitch!”

            “Raph?” Leo called out, his voice rough but determined sounding.

            “Over here bro’,” Raph said loudly.  “She’s been injecting that toxin shit into the both of us, that’s why ya’ can’t move.  Whatever ya’ do, don’t give in ta her.”

            “Shut up!” the skinwalker screeched, turning her head to glare at Raph.

            “Damn you’re stupid,” Raph taunted.  “Ya’ had ta know I wasn’t gonna let ya’ trick my brother.  Or are ya’ just overconfident?  Humans got ta be such easy pickings ya’ forgot how ta deal with someone that knows how ta fight back?  Your big mistake was messing with a Turtle.”

            She quickly turned back to Leo, leaning over to block his view of the real Raph.  “I know ya’ want ta be with Raph,” she purred, her accent exactly like Raph’s.  “Look at me, I’m him; his body, his voice, the same hard muscle and dark green skin.  Ya’ want ta fuck me, don’t ya’?  Ya’ want ta run your hands over this body ya’ admire so much while ya’ pound into me.  Why wait for something he might never give ya’?”

            “I don’t need that from him if it isn’t what he wants,” Leo said, speaking clearly so that Raph could hear him.  “Do you hear me bro’?”

            “Yeah, I hear ya’,” Raph answered.  “I never said I didn’t want ta be with ya’, why the fuck would ya’ think that?”

            “He’s lying,” the skinwalker told Leo, attempting to interrupt them.  “He doesn’t respect ya’ enough ta let ya’ be the one in control.  I do though, I’ll let ya’ do anything ya’ want ta me.”

            Leo ignored her, his eyes frantically trying to look around her fake form in order to see his real brother.  “Is that what you think Raph?  That I’m trying to control you?”

            “Why the hell else would ya’ keep pulling away from me?” Raph asked, frustrated that the skinwalker wouldn’t move out of the way.

            “I thought you understood that I was trying to control _me_ , not you,” Leo replied, an edge to his voice.  “If I open up to one feeling it leaves cracks for the rest of them to come through.”

            Emotions.  Raph had a sudden vision of an eight year old Leo rising from the bed he shared with his siblings.  It was very early morning and normally Raph wouldn’t have awakened, but his face hurt from the blow Leo had landed during a squabble between them the evening before.

            He’d gotten up as quietly as he could and followed his brother.  Keeping out of sight, Raph had watched Leo go into the area reserved for their training and begin to move through a kata their sensei had taught them.  Leo went through it once, then again, and again, and again.

            Raph finally grew tired and went back to bed.  Years later Raph figured out why Leo had begun to get up so early and spend that extra time training.  Leo’s temper easily rivaled his own; perhaps even surpassing it, and that white hot rage scared the Turtle who wanted nothing more than to lead.  The added discipline of that regular routine kept Leo’s anger in check, and rather than lashing out at Raph during fights, Leo had begun to respond with cool logic and an even temperament.

            That wasn’t what was needed right now.  Anger held the toxin at bay, he knew it was true because the madder Raph got, the more muscle control he had.  Calling Leo ‘fearless’ had been partly a joke because Raph knew his brother was afraid of what might happen if he lost his temper.  Raph had to piss Leo off; he had to get his brother angry enough to avoid the skinwalker’s allure.

            It was a good thing that pissing Leo off was sort of Raph’s specialty.

            “So sex ain’t anything but another fucking kata ta ya’?” Raph asked.  “Ya’ fuck Don and Mikey ta show ‘em how in control ya’ are?”

            “No!” Leo said, his voice beginning to sound as though he were getting peeved.  “I’m not trying to prove anything with sex.  Staying in control is about staying effective.  If I’m not in control of myself when we’re in the field, how the shell am I supposed to keep you safe?”

            “Maybe if ya’ trusted us a little more ya’ wouldn’t have ta worry about doing that,” Raph said.  “All ya’ do is talk about how ya’ gotta stay in control of yourself but it don’t sound like that ta me.  Ta me it all comes back ta how much ya’ don’t trust anybody else ta get the job done.  Ya’ think you’re better than us.”

            “Stop it!” the skinwalker shouted shrilly.  She looked over at Raph, her eyes switching to their natural color as they flashed furiously at him.  “I knew I should have killed you.”

            “She’s looking for a daddy for her kids,” Raph sang out, disdainful of her threat.  “Or maybe I should say she wants a sperm donor, ‘cause I doubt if the unlucky guy lives past the point of conception.”

            “Is that what you want, Raph?” she asked, her voice mellowing.  “Do you want your brother to live?  Mate with me and I’ll let him go.”

            “Don’t do me any favors, Raph,” Leo bit out.

            “He likes to give orders, doesn’t he?” the skinwalker asked Raph.  “He isn’t going to give you his body because then he couldn’t tell you what to do.  Show him you aren’t on his leash, Raph.  Let him watch us make love; I’ll make sure he sees himself bottoming for you.  Then I’ll let both of you go.”

            Raph laughed humorlessly.  “Like I’d fucking believe ya’.  I wouldn’t stick my dick in ya’ for any reason and Leo won’t either.  Ya’ threaten ta kill one or the other if we don’t fuck ya’; forget that, we weren’t born yesterday.  The minute ya’ get what ya’ want, you’ll toss both of us off this roof.”

            “What are you doing, Raph?” Leo asked, his voice holding a note of warning in it.

            “Ya’ scared I ain’t leaving us any options, fearless?  She’s desperate, her time is running out and she can’t find a man who ain’t either sick or on drugs.  All she’s got left is us and she ain’t killing us while there’s still a chance one of us will give in ta her sick desires.  I’m betting ya’ end up fucking her ‘cause ya’ can’t run away from this confrontation like ya’ do when we’re having it out,” Raph said, challenging his brother.

            “I do not run away,” Leo said hotly.  “You storm out just as frequently as I do.  What’s the point of trying to talk to you anyway?  You never listen to anything I say.”

            “’Cause ya’ say the same damn thing over and over,” Raph said with exasperation.  “’I gotta stay in control’ blah, blah, blah.  There’s four of us on this team, in case ya’ haven’t noticed.  Ya’ think you’re stronger if ya’ block yourself off from us?  A brick wall that only has one brick in it don’t stand up ta shit.”

            In trying to get Leo mad, Raph had succeeded in angering himself as well.  His earlier arousal was gone and he managed to pull his arms in closer to his body.  The skinwalker noticed, but rather than approaching Raph, she spun back towards Leo.

            “Show him, Le~o,” she crooned.  “Let him see what it is he’s missing.”

            Her hands glided over Leo’s plastron, one of them coming to rest on the invisible spot where the cartilage was softer.  The other dipped between his legs and from the way Leo’s foot jerked, Raph knew she’d taken hold of his tail.

            Draping her upper half across his leg, the skinwalker quickly attached her mouth to Leo’s inner thigh and Raph knew she was pumping him full of toxin.

            “Ya’ wanna know what pisses me off about ya’, Leo?  Your focus.  You’re always so fucking focused that ya’ don’t hear half the shit I say ta ya’.  I hope you’re listening now, bro’.  Ya’ gotta focus on me; ya’ gotta focus on the things I do that make ya’ madder than hell,” Raph said, talking fast.

            Now that the skinwalker had shifted out of the way, Raph could see Leo’s face.  His brother’s eyes were closed, his teeth gripping his bottom lip.  The skinwalker’s fingers played across Leo’s slit, trying to coax it open, and Raph could see that she’d already begun to arouse him.

            “Come on Leo!  Now’s your chance ta give me one of them patented lectures of yours,” Raph called frantically.  “I can’t walk out on ya’ and I can’t pop ya’ one.  Tell me why I’m an asshole, Leo.  Go ahead bro’; how many times have ya’ swallowed the shit ya’ really wanted ta say ta me?”

            He heard a low whine issue from Leo’s throat and then his brother said, “You really are an ass, you know that, Raph?  I don’t want to believe that you only think about yourself, but you keep proving me wrong.”

            The skinwalker’s head came up fast, her hand on what had been a growing bulge under Leo’s plastron stilling.  “Ignore him Leo,” she coaxed.  “Ya’ don’t want ta be angry, ya’ want ta feel good.”

            “Ya’ can feel good anytime ya’ want at home,” Raph said.  “Mike and Don will bend over if ya’ just blink at ‘em.  Bet that’s what really gets ya’ off ain’t it, Leo?  Having them jumping through hoops for ya’.  That’s what ya’ want me ta do too, just bend over and take it?  Well I ain’t made that way.  If I think you’re making a mistake I’m gonna fucking tell ya’ and no amount of your bitching is gonna stop me.”

            “It isn’t your questions that aggravate me,” Leo responded hotly.  “I’m fine with hearing alternate plans from my team.  What hacks me off is when you keep arguing about it even after I’ve explained things to you.  What’s worse is when you run off to do whatever the shell you want without thinking about the ramifications.  Like tonight’s stunt that got both of us into this predicament.”

            Raph had asked for it, but that verbal punch hurt.  Leo had a point; Raph’s actions stood a good chance of killing both of them.  It was painful having to hear Leo rub that fact in his face.

            It was worth it though.  The skinwalker was staring at Leo, her confusion obvious from her expression.  She clearly had no experience with emotions beyond desire and lust.

            As painful as it was to hear his faults being outlined by Leo, Raph had to continue forcing his brother to reach into his anger.  Leo’s natural inclination when facing an enemy was to maintain a cool head and that was absolutely the wrong way to fight this particular killer.

            “Ya’ just can’t deal with the idea one of us might know a better way of doing something than ya’ do,” Raph countered.  “Ya’ wanna throw ramifications in my face, how about the one where your lack of action was gonna cost my best friend his life.  Ya’ wanna be cautious, fine, but ya’ gotta be flexible with that sometimes.  Everything ain’t always gotta be your way, Leo.  Ya’ might find out being less rigid could be a good thing.”

            “Bringing it back around to the question of sex between us again, aren’t you Raph?” Leo snapped.  “I suppose by flexible you mean I should lay back and say thank you.”

            “Ain’t that exactly what ya’ want me ta do?” Raph asked quickly.  “I ain’t your damn puppet.”

            “I don’t want a puppet!” Leo shouted, thoroughly angered now.  “I want a brother!”

            “Enough!” the skinwalker screamed shrilly, leaping to her feet.  Both turtles stared at her, each still seeing the other, but also getting peeks at her true form as her glamour wavered.

            After taking several deep breaths, she said, “I see now that I should have separated you.  It was an error; I’ve never had two viable candidates before and I didn’t realize the volatility of your relationship.  I’m going to remedy that now; away from each other you will have a much more difficult time holding out on me.”

            “Don’t count on it, bitch,” Raph spat at her.  “Right now I’m pissed enough ta hold out for a few dozen years.”

            “Second that,” Leo announced, his voice tight with fury.

            “You think because you say that it will be true,” the skinwalker said, her voice containing an edge to it.  “My venom is still working inside your bloodstreams.  The moment you are calm enough, it will wind its way back into the pleasure center of your brains.  Your desires will become the most overwhelmingly important thing in your lives and the physical manifestation of those needs will become more excruciatingly painful the longer you deny them.

            “It won’t be possible to find relief through self-gratification or manual manipulation; I am the only one who can give your body the release it will desperately require.  I know that you realize I’m speaking the truth since you made mention of your best friend.  I’m sure if Casey could talk, he would tell you how much he’s suffering.”

            “You fuckin’ . . . .” Raph snarled, pulling his arms in and rolling onto his side.  “I’m gonna wrap my hands around your neck and squeeze until both your eyes pop out.”

            Although he was on the other side of the opening in the floor, the skinwalker danced back in surprise.  It took her a second to collect herself as she gaped at him in astonishment.

            “I can’t wait for you to beg me for release,” the skinwalker said, an underlying admiration in the seductive tone of her voice.  “We’ll produce such strong offspring.”

            “I ain’t begging ya’ for anything,” Raph told her obstinately, “and I sure as hell ain’t helping ta spawn any little furry demons.”

            “You are going to eat those words,” she responded.  “I’m going to relish every . . . .”

            A sound interrupted her threats and the skinwalker immediately stopped talking to look around.  The sound was repeated, a low chirping that was centered on Leo’s body.  In a half a minute, the noise also began coming from Raph.

            Stooping over Leo, the skinwalker delved into his belt and retrieved his shell cell.  The chirping continued for another few cycles and then stopped. 

            Leaping nimbly across the floor opening, the skinwalker approached Raph, avoiding his fist when he swung at her in slow motion.  She quickly reached into his belt and retrieved his still ringing phone.

            Turning it over in her hand, the skinwalker inspected the device closely and then shook it.  Frowning, she began pushing at various spots on the shell cell, but the sound stopped before she figured out how to answer it.

            “Your brothers are trying to reach you,” she said.  “How do I activate this phone?”

            “Go ta hell,” Raph barked.

            Her laughter grated on his nerves and Raph snarled, wishing he could gain enough muscle control to grab her.  He would happily pitch both of them through the hole in the floor just to kill her and save his family.

            “Don’t do it, Raph!” Leo yelled, almost as if reading his brother’s mind.

            “Stop giving me orders,” Raph rasped, holding onto his resentment.

            “I’ll figure it out on my own,” the skinwalker said confidently.  “But not in here.  I’m sure they’ll call back and I wouldn’t want them to be confused by the sound of your voices.  I learn quickly; I won’t be repeating the mistake I made with the two of you.  I’ve got two more opportunities to find a father for my children, how wonderfully lucky I am.”

            “You leave them alone!”  Leo’s leader voice was forceful and compelling, making even the skinwalker pause for a moment as she contemplated him.

            “You’ve no idea how ya’ excite me,” she said, switching easily to Raph’s voice as she spoke to Leo.  “So much power in ya’, no wonder the two of ya’ fight all of the time.  I see why ya’ won’t bend ta my will so easily.  Since you’ve got Don and Mikey trained ta follow ya’ without question, I’m sure they’ll jump at a chance ta fuck ya’ when ya’ offer.”

            “Don’s already onto your game,” Leo said.  “He’s the one who warned me to make sure I was talking to the real Raph.  I told them not to separate no matter what happens and they won’t.”

            “They don’t actually need to separate,” the skinwalker said with a smirk.  “I rather like the idea of a threesome.  It will be interesting ta find out which of ya’ they want ta take first.  I’ll let them do me at the same time, that should be kinky enough ta make them forget everything but their desires.”

            She made her way to the staircase, still studying the shell cells.  Raph tilted his head back as he watched her start down.

            The skinwalker either sensed his perusal or wanted to twist the verbal knife a little more, because she stopped long enough to look at him and say, “I’m going to have a matched set before the night is done.  I’ll be sure to kill you last.”

            Raph turned away from her to find Leo watching him, his eyes filled with worry.

TBC……………..


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 4,003  
> Rated: NC-17

            Once Raph knew that the skinwalker was out of earshot, he quickly asked, “Leo, how ya’ doing over there bro’?  Are ya’ all right?”

            Leo’s eyes squeezed shut and he groaned lightly before finally answering, “No.”

            “Ya’ getting hard?” Raph asked.

            “Yes,” Leo said.  “Trying not to.”

            “Me too,” Raph admitted.  “I think she was telling the truth for once.  This is exactly what’s happening ta Casey; it gets worse and ya’ can’t get relief even with your own hand.  Should I piss ya’ off some more?”

            “We can’t keep that up forever,” Leo told him with a touch of amusement.  “The arguments are getting old and we’ve already been over them.  How much can you still move?”

            “Honestly, the madder I get, the more control I’ve got,” Raph said.

            “Try to reach me,” Leo instructed.  “Hang onto that anger like you usually do.”

            “It figures you’d make me crawl across a dirty floor while I’m packing a woody under my shell,” Raph griped, rolling onto his stomach.

            Slowly lifting one knee, Raph pressed it against the floor while digging into the wood with his palms and fingertips.  He pushed himself forward; then repeated the process with the other leg, making it past the floor opening.  Twisting his hips to the side, he turned his body so that he could continue around the opening and towards his brother.  Along the way he spotted one of his weapons and scooped up the sai as he inched forward.

            When he finally made it so that he was next to Leo’s upper body, he let his head drop on his brother’s shoulder and spent a minute panting as he tried to catch his breath.

            He felt Leo’s head turn in his direction and opened his eyes to find his brother’s mouth close to his.

            “I’m here, ya’ got some kind of plan?” Raph asked.

            “Did you ever manage to get a solid strike?” Leo asked in return, taking it for granted that his brother had stuck the skinwalker with his sai.

            Raph dragged his weapon over and laid it next to Leo’s katana.  “Yeah.  Buried it right in her chest.  She yanked it out and laughed at me.  The wound just closed up on its own.”

            “You’re going to have to get the blow gun out of my belt and shoot her when she comes back,” Leo said.  “If we kill her it will snap the link between her mind and ours.”

            “Dammit Leo, you’re carrying the fucking thing ‘cause you’re the best with it,” Raph said.

            “I don’t have the muscle control that you do,” Leo said.  “How long do you think it will take her to figure out how to answer Don’s call?”

            “Not long,” Raph said.  “She’s pretty smart.  It was a bad idea leaving us in the same room together, but she did that ‘cause she never had anybody break her spell before.  She’ll wait for Don or Mikey ta’ say one of our names first so she’ll know who they’re thinking about, and then she’ll imitate our voice.”

            “Even if she doesn’t manage to talk to them, they’ll follow the shell cell’s signal and come here,” Leo said.  “How long do we have?”

            “Maybe a half hour,” Raph said.  “If she gets the phone open before they call again she’ll probably try ta call them.  She won’t know that she has ta code in or she’ll get nothing but static.  That’ll eat up some time.”

            “There are some . . . .”  Leo stopped talking and grimaced, shifting his hips before continuing, “. . . some regular darts in my belt.  Get the gun out and take a couple of practice shots.”

            “Shit,” Raph cursed, doing as his brother said.

            Leo had shoved the blow gun into the side of his belt and somehow it had survived both his fall and the skinwalker dumping him on the floor.  Raph’s fingers dipped into Leo’s belt, finding the special bone darts first and leaving them in place as he dug out three of the plain darts.

            While he shuffled so that he could get his elbows on the floor, Raph said, “I don’t know how the shell Casey climbed off of that roof and made it all the way ta April’s with this shit in his system.  I figured part of it was adrenaline from being anxious about her, but I’m worried as shell about our bro’s and I’m still weak as a kitten.”

            “You’ve gotten a larger dose of her toxin,” Leo said.  “She didn’t have enough time with Casey before you interrupted them.”

            Raph grunted, fitting a dart into the mouthpiece of the gun.  He took a couple of deep breaths, aimed the blow gun at a wide wooden support beam, and sent a hard puff of air into the gun.

            The dart missed the beam completely.

            “Crap, crap, crap,” Raph muttered, reloading the gun.

            “Find your center, Raph,” Leo urged.  “Don’t think about the blow gun or the dart; all you want to do is blow on your target.  Let the air from your lungs follow the direction of your eyes.  Relax and focus on expelling your lungs in one swift breath.”

            Once more Raph lifted the gun near his mouth, breathing easily several times before inhaling deeply and holding that breath as he placed the gun to his lips.  Blowing hard into the weapon, he sent a second projectile towards the beam, watching in aggravation as it glanced off the edge of the wood.

            “Fuck this,” Raph said, collapsing onto his side to glare at Leo.  “I could practice this shit for another couple of hours and maybe if I’m lucky I’ll hit the damn beam once.  It ain’t a moving target either and you’d better believe that bitch ain’t gonna stand still so I can peg her with one of these.”

            “Don and Mikey have _no_ weapon against her,” Leo reminded him.  “They can try to stay out of her clutches, but they are basically defenseless.”

            “Ya’ think I don’t know that?” Raph snapped.  “As you so quickly pointed out, they’re in this mess ‘cause of me.  The thing ya’ want me ta do with this blow gun is master a skill I ain’t a natural at.  If we had some damn time I could do it, but we don’t.  She could come back in here at any second.”

            Leo’s eyes narrowed and left Raph’s, drifting up to the ceiling, the unblinking stare telling Raph that Leo was thinking hard.  With a pounding heart, Raph waited.  The look on his oldest brother’s face was one that always excited him.

            As he watched Leo, Raph’s anger dwindled only to be followed by the deep yearning he’d been trying to hold at bay.  His body immediately began to heat up, a combination of the aphrodisiac toxin and his nearly all consuming lust for his brother.

            Unable to simply lay still as the heat pooled in his loins, Raph inched backwards and then used his legs to spin his body so that he was lying parallel to his brother.  It took every bit of his self-control not to touch Leo, though he wanted nothing more than to crawl on top of him.  Raph knew he needed Leo to come up with a plan that would save all of them and distracting him would be disastrous.

            “Raph,” Leo said without turning his head.  “How does she make her victims want her?”

            His brow furrowed in puzzlement, Raph said, “By becoming the object of their desire.  Or making her victims think that she is.”

            Leo swallowed before sucking in a shuddering breath.  Glancing down swiftly, Raph saw the bulge under Leo’s plastron and knew his brother was also becoming dangerously aroused.

            “We don’t actually want her though, do we?” Leo asked in a breathy voice.

            Raph started to tell Leo that he was pointing out the obvious, but then an idea struck him.

            “She said she’s the only one who can offer us release, but maybe that ain’t all true,” Raph said as he followed that train of thought.  “What our body wants is ta fuck the object of our desire and that ain’t really her, is it?”

            Leo’s head rolled back in his direction, his eyes bright with need.  “No.  You’re at the center of my own personal desire, Raph.”

            Raph’s tongue flicked out to wet his lips.  “Dammit Leo, I ain’t wanted anything so bad in my life as I’ve wanted ta be with ya’.  I don’t wanna be just another fuck though, I wanna give something back.”

            “You always give more than you take, Raph,” Leo assured him.  “I trust you with my life.  It’s never been about lack of trust.  I just . . . it’s hard for me to expose such vulnerability.”

            “Letting me make love ta ya’ don’t make ya’ vulnerable, bro’,” Raph told him, his voice husky with emotion.  “It’s about the give and take of a healthy relationship.  I know ya’ well enough ta know ya’ ain’t gonna lose your focus or your ability ta compartmentalize your feelings when ya’ need ta.  Ya’ should cut yourself some slack.”

            Leo lifted a hand to touch his brother’s face and then stared at his arm in amazement.  “How did . . . ?”

            Raph’s mouth twisted into a lopsided grin.  “Seems like lust gives ya’ back some control.  I guess ya’ gotta be able ta move ta satisfy her.  We can break this spell, Leo.”

            “I’ve been a pompous jerk,” Leo said quietly as Raph moved close enough to drape his upper body across Leo’s.

            “Yeah ya’ have,” Raph whispered against his mouth.  “But I evened it up by being a loudmouthed ass.  Kiss me.”

            Inhaling through his nostrils, Leo eagerly pressed his lips to Raph’s, opening them almost immediately in order to deepen the kiss.  Raph grunted his approval, wrapping an arm around his brother and tightly gripping his opposite shoulder.

            Letting his guard down brought a rush of feelings so strong they made Raph dizzy.  For an indeterminate amount of time all of his other senses took a hiatus as Raph’s passions spiraled ever higher.

            When they separated, Raph was nearly gasping.  “Damn bro’, ya’ never kissed me like that before.”

            “I need you,” Leo admitted in a whisper.  “I always have and denying that has been painful and stupid.”

            “I’ve never wanted ya’ ta isolate yourself from us,” Raph said in a voice that was low and urgent.  “I thought if ya’ would just let me control something ya’ could feel like you’re a part of us, but ya’ kept putting me off.  I figured ya’ didn’t want me the same way I wanted ya’.”

            “Of course I do,” Leo told him.  He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again as he said, “I have more respect for you than you can ever realize.  I know you aren’t thinking about yourself when you argue my decisions.  Everything you do is to protect someone else; that’s the hallmark of your personality.  It hurts me that you fight to carry that burden by yourself when I want you to let me help.”

            “I kept thinking that if I let ya’ take me ya’ wouldn’t balance it out,” Raph said, his chin quivering.  “That ya’ would hold that over me as some kinda weapon.  I know ya’ well enough ta know ya’ got too much honor ta pull that kinda cheap ass shit.”

            “Raph,” Leo groaned in a voice rich with longing, “kiss me again.”

            The words barely made it out of his mouth before Raph was there, his tongue searching and finding Leo’s.  What had been a dull ache between his legs was now a full-fledged fire that threatened to consume all rational thought.

            “Fuck me, Leo,” Raph gasped as he pulled away from his brother’s greedy kiss.

            “You take me,” Leo countered hungrily.  “I need to show you I can give up control.”

            “Damn, I want ya’ so bad,” Raph said, pushing his groin against Leo’s side as he sought relief.  “But ya’ gotta do me first, bro’, we ain’t got no choice.  Once ya’ cum you’ll be free of that bitch’s mind games and when she shows up ya’ can kill her.”

            “I want to give you this,” Leo said, desperate for Raph to understand.

            Raph leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Leo’s mouth.  “Ya’ will.  It’s just that I gotta bottom first.  The decision got taken away from us and we can’t fight about it anymore.  We don’t know how much time we have and ya’ gotta be free of her spell when she shows up ‘cause you’re the only one that can hit something with the blow gun.”

            “You have more control of your movements,” Leo pointed out.

            “I’ll help ya’,” Raph said.  “I bet once ya’ get going you’ll find out ya’ got all kinds of control.  And that wasn’t meant ta have a double meaning.”

            Leo couldn’t help but chuckle, for which he was rewarded by a wide grin from his hot headed brother.  The smile sent waves of desire crawling over Leo’s skin and he rolled onto his hip so that he could push his body against Raph’s.

            “Raphael,” Leo whispered, using his brother’s full name, “we haven’t got time for foreplay.”

            “Next time, Leonardo,” Raph promised breathlessly.

            Saying nothing further, Raph reached between his brother’s legs and coaxed Leo’s erection into the open.  The feel of that solid weight in his hand caused Raph to drop down as well.

            Raph released Leo’s weeping member so that he could grip his brother’s biceps and roll onto his back, bringing Leo on top of him.  The movement brought their engorged penises into contact with each other and the brothers churred simultaneously.

            Leo slipped down between Raph’s legs as soon as his younger brother spread them apart.  Eyes hazed with lust, Leo pulled his knees under him and reached up to grab the edges of Raph’s carapace, tilting his brother’s pelvis at a more advantageous angle.

            As soon as he was in position, Raph lowered his tail, revealing his entrance.  The enraptured look on Leo’s face pulled another churr out of Raph, which was immediately answered by Leo.  The hungry tone had Raph quaking with desire.

            Sliding his hands upwards along the insides of well-muscled emerald green thighs, Leo gently touched the opening beneath Raph’s tail with both thumbs, the gesture oddly worshipful.

            “I’m dyin’ here,” Raph groaned, one hand wrapped around his own cock as he stroked himself.

            “I have to prep you,” Leo said in a low voice.  “I don’t want to cause any damage.”

            “Use my precome,” Raph urged impatiently.  “I’ve got plenty.  This shit in my bloodstream has me so high I ain’t gonna need much stretching.”

            Leo reached forward and ran a finger along the underside and the tip of Raph’s cock, thrilled at the full body shivers his action elicited.

            His finger thoroughly coated with copious amounts of precome, Leo pressed it into Raph, spreading the juices liberally around the outside of his anus and then the interior of Raph’s anal canal.  The tight ring of virgin muscle at Raph’s entrance contracted around Leo’s finger, drawing a gasp of anticipation from the eldest Turtle.

            “Hurry Leo,” Raph begged.  “If she comes back while we’re doing this she’ll yank us apart.”

            Leo nodded; withdrawing his finger in order to quickly scoop up some more of Raph’s precome before pushing it into his brother.  With the second application of natural lubricant in place, Leo took his hand away from Raph so that he could slick his own cock with the precome leaking from it.

            Shifting forward Leo froze for just a moment, dick in hand, as he stared down at the brother he had begun to think he’d never see in such a wantonly open position.

            “Do ya’ need some help?” Raph asked.

            “No,” Leo said, offering his brother a quivering smile.  “I seem to have all kinds of muscle control right now.”

            To prove his point, he touched the tip of his cock to Raph’s opening and slowly pushed it against the grasping tightness, feeling the gratifying heat of his brother’s interior.

            Raph responded with a heavy and welcoming sigh.  “More,” he demanded, pulling at his cock which stood darkly rigid in his hand.

            As soon he was breached, Raph’s hand stopped moving, all of his concentration focused on the feeling of his brother’s cock sliding into his body.  It definitely stung as his entrance stretched wide to accommodate Leo’s thickness, but it didn’t hurt as badly as Raph had expected.  He had a quick thought that he could thank the skinwalker’s toxin for his enjoying the pleasure without the pain.

            Avidly watching Leo’s face, Raph found himself churring at the intense concentration he saw there.  It took all of his patience to lie still and allow Leo to set a careful pace, because Raph’s cock was straining with the need to release.  If Leo was anywhere near as desperate for relief as Raph was, then the eldest was indeed a master of self-control.

            “Come on Leo,” Raph exhorted as he began stroking his own cock again.  “I ain’t gonna break, give me what ya’ been saving up.”

            Their eyes met and Leo murmured, “Are you sure?”

            In answer, Raph lifted his legs, tightly gripping the sides of Leo’s carapace with his calves.

            “Mikey said I’d like bottoming,” Raph rasped with a touch of his usual cockiness.  “I wanna find out for myself.”

            The understated smile that Leo offered him made Raph’s heart beat rapidly in his chest.  Digging his heels into Leo’s shell, Raph pulled him forward.

            It was all the encouragement that Leo needed to thrust the rest of the way into his brother.  Raph grunted at the sharp burn of that sudden intrusion but his mind left the pain behind as his brother began moving in and out of him.

            Raph’s cock throbbed in his hand but no matter how fast or hard he stroked himself he couldn’t gain relief.  Feeling Leo driving away inside him lit a fire in Raph’s belly and if it weren’t for the fact that pulling Leo down for a kiss would have crushed his own dick, Raph would have tried to swallow his brother’s tongue.

            Squirming beneath Leo, Raph suddenly felt the first strike to his prostate.

            “Shit!” Raph yelped, his entire body quivering as though hit by an electrical current.

            “Raph,” Leo moaned, panting heavily as he thrust into his brother, “I’m not going to last.”

            “Go,” Raph hissed.  “Go, go, go!”

            Leo’s thighs pushed against Raph’s buttocks as the older Turtle pressed in closer to his brother, his movements no longer rhythmic.  Mouth open and eyes shut, Leo’s speed increased, his cock jabbing into his brother at a hard and fast pace.

            Suddenly Leo’s teeth clicked together, his face twisting as a loud grunt escaped him.  Raph immediately felt the heat of Leo’s climax pour into him and nearly sobbed, joyous at knowing that they were right about being able to relieve each other and that it was now his turn.

            Leo was breathing hard, sucking air frantically into his lungs.  Even in that condition he knew the urgency of their situation and pulled out of his brother, scooting out of the way as Raph’s feet dropped off of him.

            Adjusting his legs, Leo lay back and spread himself open for Raph.

            Mouth suddenly dry, Raph crawled forward, his hands caressing Leo’s skin from ankles, to calves, to knees, finally stopping at Leo’s thighs.  Squeezing them, he then stroked inwards, flattening his hands against Leo’s inner thighs to open them further.

            Fully sated, Leo appeared both relaxed yet still lustful, his half-closed eyes raking over Raph’s form.  The look made Raph’s cock jump in response and his eyes dropped to Leo’s exposed anal entrance.

            Raph had spent so many nights dreaming about how he’d take his brother once he had the chance; how he’d work Leo into a frenzy so that his brother would beg for Raph’s cock.  He wasn’t going to get the chance to tease him now, but he could still make it damn good for Leo.

            Leo’s dick was still exposed and covered with glistening cum, so Raph gently wrapped his fingers around it at the midway point, gliding upwards until his digits were soaked with Leo’s juices.  With the kind of delicate touch that would have surprised his other two brothers, Raph carefully prepped Leo.  Although the clock was ticking and Raph was beyond painfully engorged, he took the time to thoroughly lubricate and stretch his brother.

            “It’s okay Raph,” Leo told him, his voice soft and caring.  “I’ve still got the toxin in my veins; you don’t have to be so careful.”

            Raph looked up at him, gold eyes shining with equal parts love and lust.  “I gotta show ya’ it ain’t just about me.”

            “Right now it has to be,” Leo said.  “I know you’re hurting, please don’t hold back anymore.  This is something I should have given you a long time ago.”

            Lunging forward, Raph leaned over Leo and captured his mouth in a passionate kiss.  Leo draped his legs over the backs of Raph’s thighs before pulling his lips away from his brother’s.

            “Now,” Leo urged breathlessly.

            Raph reached down to grab his cock, lining it up with Leo’s entrance.  With a last long look into his brother’s eyes, Raph penetrated Leo for the first time.

            Words, if Raph had been capable of forming any, wouldn’t have been enough to describe the feeling.  It wasn’t just the heated satin of Leo’s inner core caressing his cock that stole Raph’s breath; it was Leo himself that turned sex into ecstasy.

            Having Leo beneath him, opening his body and soul to Raph and only Raph was enough to bring the topping Turtle to the edge of completion right then.  Raph pushed the niggling thought of the skinwalker out of his conscious, concentrating instead on making the most of however much time he had.

            Watching his brother’s eyes, Raph slowly pushed completely into Leo.  Buried to the hilt in the amazing tightness of Leo’s body, Raph examined his brother’s face for any sign of pain.  Leo stared up at him, refusing to close his eyes as he too studied the expression of love and desire that Raph no longer needed to hide.

            Leo’s hips shifted as he adjusted his position and the move sent sparks into Raph’s groin.  With a sound that was part churr, part groan, Raph began to thrust.

            “Oh damn, Leo,” Raph said, his voice a hoarse whisper of sound.  “Ya’ feel so fuckin’ good.”

            “Raph,” Leo churred.  “Ra~ph.”

            “When we get out of here,” Raph said, beginning to move faster, “I’m gonna do this again.  I’m gonna fuck ya’ so hard ya’ ain’t gonna be able ta walk.”

            “Promises.”  Leo’s tease was followed by a gasp.

            “Found that spot,” Raph told him, pleased with himself.

            “I f  . . . found yours faster,” Leo countered.

            “I made ya’ stutter,” Raph said and then his teeth clamped down on his lip.

            The pressure in Raph’s groin had grown steadily heavier and the tingling feeling that preceded a climax was racing through his rectum and the base of his cock.  A steady drumbeat of rushing blood sounded in Raph’s eardrums as he pounded into his brother.

            “Shit, I’m gonna cum,” Raph croaked from between clenched teeth.

            He barely registered Leo stiffening beneath him.  A split second later his brother grabbed at the blow gun that Raph had jammed into his own belt just moments earlier.

            “She’s here!” Leo shouted.

            At exactly that moment Raph orgasmed, his hips still thrusting as he emptied himself into Leo.

            Mind fogged and eyes clouded, Raph watched as Leo reached in what seemed like slow motion for one of the bone darts inside his belt.  From directly behind him Raph heard an unearthly, blood curdling screech.

TBC……………….


	14. Final

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Word Count: 2,270  
> Rated: NC-17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This incredible preview image was created by kyuubi-fox-demon on DeviantArt.  
> 

            The endorphins racing through Raph’s body clashed with his sudden surge of adrenaline as soon as he heard that screech.  Turning his head, Raph saw the skinwalker running towards them.

            Two thoughts snapped into Raph’s mind simultaneously; grab his weapon and get out of Leo’s line of fire.

            Nature’s response to imminent danger caused Raph’s dick to snap back into its protective pouch, the withdrawal somewhat painful in its suddenness.  Lunging to the side, Raph threw himself backwards off of Leo.

            With unerring accuracy his hand came down on his sai and he rolled up onto his knees.  Focused on her primary target, the skinwalker’s head turned in his direction and at exactly that moment, Leo blew a dart into her neck.

            If she hadn’t been coming right at him it was questionable whether the dart would have penetrated her fur.  Out of breath from the sexual encounter with Raph, Leo had blown as hard as he could manage and her momentum made up the difference.

            Her fury combined with their sexual release destroyed the skinwalker’s ability to hang onto her glamour.  Tufts of fur began showing through the image she was trying to maintain, making her appearance ragged and manic.

            The dart hit with enough force to bury the bone bead into her skin.  As soon as he released the dart, Leo twisted his body out of her path and she ran right by him.

            Skidding to a halt, the skinwalker slapped a hand to her neck as she spun back towards her intended prey.  Just before her fur covered that section of her body, the brothers saw a thin trickle of blood slide out from under her hand.

            Her glare was murderous as she said, “You can’t hurt me.  The two of you have outlived your use . . . useful . . . kkah~kah . . . .”

            The expression on her face turned from anger to panic as the skinwalker began to claw at her throat.  Even with the fur now covering the area, the Turtles could see that her neck was swelling.

            Once more Leo lifted the blow gun to his lips and the skinwalker’s eyes went wide.  Dashing past him, she made a beeline for the staircase.

            Despite the loud wheezing that now issued from the skinwalker’s throat, the puff of air that sent another dart between her shoulder blades was audible.  The skinwalker stumbled slightly, but then leaned forward as she made a determined effort to get away.

            “No ya’ don’t!” Raph yelled, leaping at her running form.

            His arms closed around one of her legs, his weight pulling her up short.  She twisted in Raph’s grip and kicked at him, her foot grazing his carapace, and gave up trying to dislodge him in favor of dragging him along with her.

            Lifting his sai, Raph jammed it into the top of her foot with all of the force he could muster.  Driven by his hard muscle and strong determination, the sai went completely through her foot and embedded itself deeply into the wooden flooring underneath.

            The skinwalker’s head jerked back and a nightmarish scream pierced the air around the brothers as the weapon punctured her skin.  Her arms came out from her sides, the fingers lengthening as her claw like nails came into view.

            Raph fell away from her as the skinwalker swept down at his head with those thick talons, just avoiding having his skull sliced open.  Unable to go after him, the skinwalker bent over and grasped the sai’s handle in an attempt to get free.

            From the corner of his eye Raph saw Leo placing the blow gun to his mouth again.  The skinwalker saw the movement as well, releasing the sai as she wrenched her body backwards.

            Blood spewed up from a gaping tear in her foot but her terror-stricken move wasn’t fast enough.  Raph watched the third bone dart whiz by him and bury itself in the skinwalker’s forehead.

            The blow sent her toppling backwards, her rear end landing on the floor with a heavy thump, but this time no sound came out of her mouth.  Raph scrambled further back to stay away from her as she began to writhe and twitch.

            Unable to pull his eyes off of her, Raph watched as her image began to change.  In rapid fire succession her form shifted from April, to Casey, to Mikey, to Villela, and then others whose pictures he’d seen in the paper.

            The sound of her arms and unpinned leg pounding on the floor reverberated off the walls.  Flecks of foam sprayed from her mouth as she continued to transform, becoming Leo again.

            As that form faded into another, Raph gasped.  He found himself staring into dead black eyes buried in the sockets of his own face.

            The skinwalker suddenly launched herself at him, ripping the flesh from half of her foot as she tried in one last desperate attempt to strike out at the Turtle who was the cause of her defeat. 

            Pulling his legs under him, Raph lurched to his feet without his usual speed, the after effects of the toxin still playing havoc with his balance.  Scurrying backwards, his carapace hit the wall and she bore down on him.

            A flash of blue appeared in Raph’s peripheral vision and his eyes darted past the skinwalker.  The dim light caught and reflected off the blade of a razor sharp katana as it came down and across in a blur of singing metal.

            The skinwalker’s head flew off her neck as Leo’s sword cleaved through skin and bone.  Spiraling through the air, blood spattered the walls and floor, raining down on both Raph and Leo before the head landed with a solid thunk.

            Her body toppled over next, the clawed fingers clenching spasmodically before finally going still.

            Leo’s sword came down, the tip digging into the floor as he leaned on it.  Pushing away from the wall, Raph staggered over to his brother, flinging an arm over Leo’s shoulder before both of them sank to their knees.

            A second later a sizzling, snapping sound began to come from the skinwalker’s body.  Thin tendrils of smoke climbed into the air, snaking up from both the body and head.  Breathing heavily, neither Turtle attempted to move as they watched the skinwalker’s remains crumble in upon themselves and then turn to dust.

            After nearly an entire minute passed, Leo asked, “How do you feel?”

            “Like hammered shit,” Raph replied and then started laughing.

            Leo’s head turned so that he could look at his brother and he began laughing too.

            That’s how Don and Mikey found them when the pair raced into the tower room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “April’s coming home today,” Casey said, eyes shining at the prospect as he walked with Raph towards the lair’s elevator.

            Raph quashed the teasing reply that came to his lips, figuring Casey had been through enough in the last couple of days.  There were always plenty of opportunities to embarrass his friend.

            “That’s good, things don’t seem right when she ain’t around,” Raph said instead.

            Standing in front of the elevator door, Casey stared at him for a second and then asked, “Did I do something stupid while I was out of it?”

            This time Raph couldn’t resist.  “Nothing more stupid than what ya’ usually do.”

            “After ya’ got that skinwalker bitch off of me and dragged me down here, I don’t remember anything,” Casey said.  “I had some really weird ass dreams about Donny doing stuff ta me.”

            “If you’re worried he went all mad scientist on your ass, forget it,” Raph said.  “We were too busy trying ta kill that freaky bitch.”

            “Not that,” Casey said with a grimace.  “I mean _weird_ dreams.”

            Raph’s lips curled up in disgust.  “Damn Casey, I don’t wanna hear how you’re having wet dreams about my brother.”

            Casey recoiled, his mouth dropping open before he stammered, “I am n . . . not!  I don’t sw . . . swing that way.”

            “Oh, so now Donny ain’t good enough for ya’?” Raph asked in mock displeasure.

            “Fuck ya’, Raph,” Casey said, his face red.  He jabbed at the button to open the elevator doors.

            Raph was laughing as Casey stepped inside.  Casey refused to look at him for a second, but then he turned around wearing a big grin on his face.

            “Thanks Raph,” Casey said.

            “Anytime buddy,” Raph told him as the doors slid shut.

            Don came out of the kitchen as Raph walked past on his way to the staircase.  “Does he remember anything?” Don asked.

            “Nah, not really” Raph said.  “He thinks it was all some big jumbled up dream.  ‘Course he’s gonna be looking at ya’ funny for a few weeks since he’s sure he was dreaming about ya’ jerking him off.”

            “Do not remind me,” Don said, shaking his head.  “I think I’ve washed a layer of skin off of my hands.”

            They walked upstairs side by side and Raph asked, “So what made the skinwalker disintegrate like that?”

            “Rapid aging would be my guess,” Don answered.  “She was probably a couple of hundred years old.  I suppose the bone beads broke whatever spell she used to keep herself young and vibrant.”

            “Ya’ think there’s any more of those things out there?” Raph asked.

            “Who knows,” Don said.  “I searched all of the major news sources for the last five years and didn’t find anything.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t more out there waiting on their ‘time’.”

            “Hey, where’s Leo?” Mikey called, racing up the stairs behind them.

            “Bathroom,” Raph said.  “Why?”

            “How ‘bout we all go out and grab some ice cream?” Mikey suggested.

            Raph stopped in front of Leo’s room.  “No way; I’m beat and I sure as shell don’t feel like pulling on a disguise just for some Rocky Road.”

            “Leave him alone, Mikey,” Don said.  “He and Leo got a big dose of toxin and they need some rest so the remainder of it can leave their systems.”

            “It won’t hurt you to stay in for one night, Michelangelo,” Leo said as he walked towards them.  “Skipping dessert once in a while wouldn’t be so bad either.”

            “Spoil sport,” Mikey grumbled.

            Raph leaned against the door frame to Leo’s room, his arms crossed over his plastron and a big grin on his face.  Leo glanced at him and then did a double take at seeing his stance.

            “What?” Leo asked.

            Raph’s grin got bigger as he waggled his brow and tipped his head suggestively towards Leo’s bed.

            “You’re incorrigible,” Leo said, barely holding back a smile of his own.

            “If that means I like sex then yeah, I am,” Raph agreed.

            “Goodnight Mikey, goodnight Donny,” Leo said, walking through the door without taking his eyes off Raph.

            Mikey’s chin dropped as he watched Raph slide off the door frame and go into Leo’s room behind his oldest brother.  The snap of the door closing was quickly followed by the very audible sound of the lock being turned.

            Don and Mikey stared at the door for several minutes and then both began to grin knowingly as dueling churrs escaped from Leo’s room.

            “So~o, when do you think _we_ can get at those two tight butts?” Mikey asked, eyes sparkling with mischief.

            “Patience Michelangelo,” Don said with mock sternness.  “They have a lot of catching up to do.”

            Mikey seemed to contemplate that answer for a second and then reached over to stroke a hand down Don’s arm.

            “Nothing else is going on around here, wanna go to your lab and do some ‘experiments’?” Mikey asked suggestively.

            Don’s expression became calculating and he suddenly grabbed Mikey’s hand.

            “That’s too far.  I’ve got some things in my room I’ve been dying to try out on you,” Don said, dragging his younger brother through his bedroom door.

            “Wait, what?” Mikey yelped, tugging against Don’s hold unsuccessfully.  “What kind of things?”

            “You’ll enjoy them,” Don said, closing and locking the door with an ominous click.  “Besides, you did tell Raph how much you like to bottom.”

            “Remind me never to say stuff around a guy who remembers _everything_ ,” Mikey grumbled as Don shoved him onto the bed.

            A few minutes later Mikey’s eyes fluttered closed and he groaned with pleasure, damn glad that Don never did forget anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Bodies entwined on Leo’s bed, Raph nipped and licked his way across Leo’s throat.  His oldest brother’s hands dug into his hips, seemingly trying to pull Raph into his shell with him.

            “Damn, Raph,” Leo croaked, grinding his growing arousal against the bulge he could feel in Raph’s plastron.

            Raph’s head moved back so he could look at Leo’s face.  “Ya’ cussed,” Raph said in amazement.

            “N . . . no I didn’t,” Leo told him, the color rising on his cheeks.

            “Fuck yeah ya’ did,” Raph chortled.  “I made ya’ cuss _and_ stammer again.”

            “Shut up,” Leo said, trying to hide his discomposure.

            With a chuckle, Raph said, “Wonder what else I can make ya’ do.”

            Swinging his legs over Raph’s, Leo leveraged his brother onto his back and straddled him.

            “Bet I can make you cum first,” Leo challenged.

            Grabbing Leo’s shoulders quickly, Raph flipped his brother over and landed on top of him.

            “I’m so gonna win that bet,” Raph said with a devilish grin.

            Leo dug his heels into the bed and rolled them both onto their sides.  “And just how do we decide who tops?  No one’s threatening our lives this time.”

            Raph’s eyes twinkled with roguish charm as he said, “I’ll wrestle ya’ for it.”

The End


End file.
